Government on the back foot
Government on the back foot
The Nation October 18, 2011 1:01 am
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Evacuation of workers from sixth industrial estate raises fears, Yingluck govt may not be able to prevent Bangkok from being swamped
The breaching of Thailand's first industrial estate - one of the country's biggest - by menacing flood water has put the Yingluck government on the back foot again and forced re-evaluation of the disaster, which seemed to have stabilised in recent days.
The success or failure of the government's hectic efforts to save the inner areas of Nava Nakhon Industrial Park, which employs more than 200,000 workers, will go a long way to determining the increasingly uncertain fate of Bangkok.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra expressed confidence that the industrial park in Pathum Thani would be saved. Yesterday she was left nearly speechless, saying that she was sorry the outer parts of the vast industrial zone had finally succumbed to floods.
The fate of Nava Nakorn featured in a day full of bad news. The Thammasat Rangsit relief centre was itself sending alarming signals, asking owners who parked vehicles in the campus to escape flooding to get their cars out of the area immediately. The Dhammakaya Temple, which only a few days ago was listed as a good flood shelter location, faced a similar threat. The Air Force base at Don Mueang was also at risk of flooding and on evacuation alert.
Some military experts even warned that the Flood Relief Operations Command in Don Mueang was no longer safe. Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra did not sound as confident as he had been a few days earlier about protecting the capital. He said he could not give an assurance that the city was 100 per cent safe, although he reiterated that "if danger comes", he would be the first to tell Bangkokians.
The commotion at Nava Nakorn yesterday typified the government's rearguard battle against the biggest flood disaster in decades: beginning with a sense of fear, followed by expressions of confidence that a threatened area would hold, only for ravaging flood water to sweep away any initial optimism. Now, concerns are growing that a similar phenomenon could hit Bangkok. Realising how vulnerable the capital is, especially to human conflicts that could lead to destruction of key flood-prevention facilities, Yingluck yesterday made another plea for angry flood victims not to pull down structures in an attempt to "level things up" with Bangkok.
Nava Nakorn became the sixth industrial estate to be swamped. If the frantic defence of its inner areas fails, the economic damage, which was already estimated at way above Bt100 billion, will climb further. The other hard-hit industrial parks are Saharatana, Rojana, Hi-tech, Bang Pa-in and Factoryland, all in Ayutthaya province.
The growing woes of Thailand's industrial sector are shaping up as a two-front battle for the Yingluck government, as floods have also caused grave suffering to more than 2 million Thais. Government operations to provide relief to affected citizens have been far from efficient or swift, and cries for help have not subsided. Apparently admitting that the situation was getting worse, Yingluck on Sunday enlisted more help from the Army, assigning it to take charge of two relief centres tackling problems in five provinces: Nakhon Sawan, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Lop Buri and Nonthaburi.
Over 200 plants in Nava Nakorn were affected yesterday. With the estate no longer a benchmark of government resistance to the flood, attention was shifting to Bang Kadee industrial estate, which is also in Pathum Thani. Parts of Rangsit - such as a Bangkok University branch and Rangsit market - were also being closely watched, as they form a virtual northern gateway to the capital.
In another development that could signal the alarming seriousness of the capital's situation, Privy Councillor Surayud Chulanont, also president of the council at King Mongkut Institute of Technology in Lat Krabang, called for an urgent meeting of agencies concerned with protecting the eastern parts of Bangkok.
