Abundant garbage and household grease have been found in the sewers in Bangkok’s Huai Kwang area, on the first day of clearing the city’s drainage system by prisoners, to curb the persistent flooding problem especially during the current rainy season.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, who observed the clearing operation in front of a wet market in Huai Kwang, said that he will seek cooperation from households by reducing the discharge of grease from their kitchens into the drains.
He also said that there should be a space to store the grease, so it can be disposed of before it ends up in the drains and, along with garbage, blocks the flow of waste water, resulting in flooding on road surfaces during heavy rainfall.
Apart from solving the problem at its source, which saves cost, the governor said that officials will map the locations of drains where there is a heavy concentration of garbage and grease, so they will know where they should start to clear the drains when there is flooding.
The city administration has hired the Corrections Department, at a cost of 15 million baht, to clear 530km of sewers, out of a total of 3,390km set to be cleared in Bangkok, by the end of this fiscal year.
The draining efforts at Huai Kwang are on a voluntary basis. Paid work will start on July 1.
