Thai PM believes China not withholding Mekong River water intentionally

BANGKOK, March 6 (TNA) -- China has no intention to bring suffering to countries in the Mekong River basin by withholding water although the river has

dropped to its lowest level in 50 years, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Saturday.

Mr Abhisit said the cause of the current water shortage must be investigated, especially in northeastern Thailand, emphasising that it is too early to

conclude that China should be blamed for not releasing water retained upstream.

The prime minister said he believed that China had no intention to bring difficulty to the Mekong Basin countries, and that if requested, China would
definitely cooperate.

Water resources specialists have said that dams in China must release water to generate electricity and the ongoing drop of the water level in the Mekong

River was not a result of its upstream dams, but rather the effects of global warming.

Meanwhile, Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said that while inspecting the water shortage and distributing clean water to people living in four

districts on the outskirts of Bangkok that 17 water tanks had been installed in nine areas to alleviate public hardship during the current summer season.

Governor Sukhumbhand said the Royal Irrigation Department will release more than eight billion cubic metres of stored water from three major dams to farmers living in the outer reaches of Bangkok for use this summer.

However, he urged rice farmers to not plant rice for the second crop season beginning April 1 to prevent a new rice crop from being damaged due to the
water shortage.

The Bangkok governor advised farmers to temporarily switch to growing crops consuming lesser amounts of water or to find supplementary jobs. He
also encouraged the public to conserve water during the current dry season. (TNA)