ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
DROUGHT
AS THE centre of the Yom River in Phichit’s Bung Narang district shows cracks in the riverbed after seven months of drought, farmers along the river are still unable to grow rice.
Residents in Pho Thale district’s Tambon Noen Sawang yesterday hosted the Bung Fai rocket festival, lighting 50 rockets as an offering to the supernatural Phraya Thaen to appeal for abundant rainfall. The tradition, originating in Roi Et province, has been organised for the past two decades in that province in keeping with the beliefs of many residents.
In Uttaradit’s Tha Pla district, the Nan River is so dry that in the middle of its bed, sand dunes have emerged during this drought, believed to be the worst in 50 years. Ban Huai Charoen villager Wijitra Lamyai, 53, said water levels in the river have never been so low since the residents’ relocation due to the construction of the Sirikit Dam 47 years ago.
A modest upside is that the exposed riverbed has allowed residents in the area to harvest sand clams, known as Asaphis violascens. The community has agreed to only harvest the larger clams with a limit of five kilograms per household as a conservation measure to protect the high-protein resource, Wijitra said.
In Pathum Thani’s Lam Luk Ka district, the Lam Luk Ka-Thanya Buri Road in Moo 8 of Tambon Lat Sawai has been damaged by subsidence, causing a 1.5-metre-deep and 100-metre-long section to collapse yesterday, prompting authorities to close the road as a safety precaution.
In Chon Buri’s Sri Racha district, the Nong Kho Haeng Reservoir in Tambon Nong Kham was at its driest in 13 years, revealing the two-kilometre Nong Kho-Hoobbon Road that had previously been submerged.
In Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district, Phu Sai Reservior, the source of tap water for Tambon Huai Sat Yai, had been dry for a month while rainmaking operations on March 1 yielded only modest showers, which were insufficient to refill the reservoir.
Local authorities have had to bring water from other areas to assist the affected 1,700 families in 10 villages. The Huai Sat Yai health promotion hospital has also demanded water, which will be supplied by a local army camp today. About 200 elephants living in the La-oo Forest are also suffering from water shortages.
In Trang, about 160,000 people in 50,000 households in 10 districts are short of tap water and thousands of rai of farmland have been affected. The drought has also caused three major lotus farmers in Tambon Bang Rak in the province’s Muang district to suffer losses as their combined 30-rai (4.8-hectares) lotus plots have gone dry. Sana Kimchiang, whose 12-rai lotus farm was damaged, said this was the worst drought he had ever experienced, depriving him of his normal monthly income of Bt20,000 to Bt30,000.
In Satun, goat farmers lamented that the five-month drought in the area had caused grass that was a source of goat feed to wither – in addition to the scarcity of drinking water for the animals. The Satun livestock office has already provided 2,500 rolls of dry grass to farmers and is procuring an additional 1,000 rolls. Farmers who are in need are encouraged to present their national identity cards to collect more grass, an official said.