THEPHUKETNEWS.COM FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 thephuketnews thephuketnews1 thephuketnews.com Friday, January 25 – Thursday, January 31, 2019 Since 2011 / Volume IX / No. 4 20 Baht POLICEMAN DENIES STREET SLAYING, FREED ON BAIL > PAGE 3 NEWS PAGE 2 Call for caution as Patong Hill RUNNING carnage returns ON EMPTY WATER RATIONS IN LIFE PAGE 11 FORCE TO STAVE OFF In the mind of a record-breaking EXHAUSTING SUPPLY sailor: Yassine BEFORE RAINS RETURN Water levels at Bang Neow Dum reservoir in Srisoonthorn are dangerously low. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot Tanyaluk Sakoot “During the dry season, there is announcements,” he added. in the Cherng Talay and Srisoonthorn [email protected] less water to replenish water supplies. The water ration measures were areas to start using water more spar- This leads to having not enough water as follows: ingly were first unveiled by a report arge areas of Cherng Talay, that people need to use,” Mr MaAnn In Moo 2, which includes Soi Bang by The Phuket News in November, SPORT PAGE 32 mostly concentrated in the said in his statement announcing the Tao 8, Soi Nok Na, Soi Ao Bang Tao when Somsawat Chaisinsod, Director LBang Tao area, went on water water restrictions. 4 and Soi Bang Tao 12, water is now of Phuket Provincial Irrigation Office, WCGC Worlds rations this week in an attempt to Mr MaAnn urged residents to available from 7am to 8pm only. explained that the Bang Neow Dum prevent what water remains in Bang use as little water as possible and to Throughout all of Moo 3, water reservoir contained only about 3.25 Neow Dum reservoir from running keep water reserves in containers supply is available from 5:30am to million cubic meters. The reservoir’s qualifier set for out before the annual rains return for use when mains water supply is 10:30am, and from 3:30pm to 9:30pm. full capacity is 7.2mn cubic meters. Laguna return in May. not available. In Moo 5, which includes Soi Bang “Of that, we are able to use only The order to implement water ra- “If you see a pipe water broken or Tao 3, Soi Bang Tao 4/1 and Soi Bang 3.14mn cubic meters as 0.11mn cubic tions, directly affecting Moo 2, 3 and damaged, please inform the Cherng Tao 5, 7, 9 and along Srisoonthorn meters of that capacity is useless. It’s 5 of Cherng Talay, was introduced Talay OrBorTor at 076-271096-7,” Mr Rd from Soi Bang Tao 3 to Soi Bang just mud, which we can’t use,” Mr with immediate effect on Tuesday by MaAnn added. Tao 9, water will be available from Somsawat explained. a directive issued by Cherng Talay “If there are any changes (to the 5:30am to 9:30am and from 4:30pm “We need about 5mn cubic meters Tambon Administration Organisation scheduled water rationing), Cherng to 9:30pm only. – or about 70% of the reservoir’s (OrBorTor) Chief MaAnn Samran. Talay OrBorTor will make further The warnings for local residents capacity – by the end of December to... CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 @thephuketnews 2 PHUKET NEWS THEPHUKETNEWS.COM FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 [email protected] Officials, Soi Dog set quarantine zone after dog dies of News rabies > page 4 US Govt shutdown delays tsunami buoy going online Patong Hill mayhem THE US GOVERNMENT shutdown due Congressional appropriations left the Call for caution amid multiple-vehicle wipeouts tsunami-warning buoy The Phuket News the motorbike collided on deployed off Phuket last Friday [email protected] the small road that joins the (Jan 18) useless as the buoy Patong Hill road partway remained to be manually atong Police are urging up the hill, but the tour bus activated by the National motorists to exercise remained skewed across the The tsunami-warning buoy Oceanic and Atmospheric was deployed last Friday Pcaution over Patong Hill road heading out of Patong at Administration (NOAA). morning (Jan 18), but after a slew of collisions on the the bottom of the hill, where a “The tsunami-warning remains to be activated. busy road on Wednesday (Jan six-wheeled truck sat in front buoy was deployed at about Photo: NDWC 23), following a six-wheeled of it jammed into a power pole. 9am, but the buoy is not ac- truck wiping out six vehicles Three people were reported tivated yet. It must be con- manually activated,” he added. late Tuesday afternoon. as injured in the collisions, nected to the monitoring and “The NOAA apologised Capt Jaruwat Jiamnaka The call for caution on Patong Hill comes amid a slew of police reported. warning system operated for the inconvenience. They of the Patong Traffic Police multiple-vehicle wipeouts. Photo: Patong Fire Dept All the wrecks strewn by the NOAA,” Dr Prasong said they have limited staff issued the call for caution across the main road caused Thammapala, Scientist Sen- working there right now who Wednesday morning after a Jaruwat explained. Wednesday afternoon when havoc for traffic for hours after. ior Professional Level at the are already overloaded with tour bus and a pickup truck Another tour bus arrived a tour bus, two passenger That slew of accidents National Disaster Warning work.” sideswiped each other on the soon after and carried the vans, several passenger cars, a followed a runaway six- Centre (NDWC) in Bangkok, “They gave their word to busy road at about 10am. tourists on with their journey, pickup truck and a motorbike wheeled truck colliding with explained to The Phuket News. me that they would work as The pickup truck was he added. were all involved in a series several cars before slamming “I contacted the NOAA in fast as possible to get the buoy travelling downhill into Patong “I don’t know what of collisions at the bottom of head-on into another truck Washington, DC this morning online,” he said. and the tour bus was climbing nationality the tourists were, the hill. in front of Wat Patong late (Jan 18) and they said the buoy Dr Prasong later confirmed the hill out of Patong when but they were all safe,” he said. The two vans collided Tuesday afternoon (Jan 22). was not yet activated because that the tsunami-warning they struck each other. However, that accident head-on in front of Wat The driver, Boonloam of the government shutdown,” buoy was brought online at “There were no injuries paled in comparison to the Patong. Several passenger Boonprom, claimed that the Dr Prasong said. 1:50am last Saturday (Jan 19), in the accident, and both multi-vehicle wipeout that cars were involved in collisions brakes of the truck failed “As it is a new buoy Phuket time. vehicles were soon moved happened in front of Wat immediately nearby. while he was descending the brought online, it must be Tanyaluk Sakoot out of traffic’s way,” Capt Patong at about 3:40pm The pickup truck and hill into Patong. Water rations in force ‘just in case’ Continued from page 1 ...cope with the demand during the dry season (December-April),” he warned. “My advice is for people and businesses in the affected areas to start storing water reserves so they can use it for their own needs in the first few months of 2019. This week, Mr Somsawat confirmed that the reservoir is currently holding about 2.3mn Water levels at the Bang Neow Dum reservoir cubic meters of water, or just less than 32% of in Srisoonthorn have never been so low. capicity. That reading was taken on Monday Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot (Jan 21). Mr Somsawat declined to confirm or deny plementation of activities aimed at achieving, whether the forced water restrictions were at collecting, storing, controlling, distributing, his request. draining or allocating water for agricultural, Instead, he explained that a plan for water- energy, household consumption or industrial saving measures “was given to” the Phuket purposes under irrigation laws, ditch and dike Provincial Water Authority office, who “modi- laws and other related laws.” fied the plan by themselves”. Meanwhile, Thamdongrak Kumphet, the “The plan will conserve water supplies for Phuket Provincial Water Authority (PWA) of- people until April 2019. That’s the plan,” he said. ficial responsible for water supply, flatly denied “Bang Neow Dum reservoir just needs 3 that the PWA had called for any rationing of million cubic meters to be enough for the dry water supply. season this year, but we don’t have that much “We have not had any ideas to limit wa- water in the reservoir,” he pointed out blankly. ter supply. Our plan is to source water from Mr Somsawat noted that plans were being privately owned water sources. We will have drawn up to counter the problem, but declined meeting to talk about this issue next month,” to reveal any details. he said on Tuesday. “I can’t tell you about the plan in detail yet. Regardless, Mr Somsawat warned that wa- I will check the water level again at the end ter supply issues in the area will not go away, of January, then I will present the plan to the especially considering the growth in develop- Provincial Water Authority (PWA),” he said. ments in the area, specifically in Srisoonthorn, “It is the PWA’s responsibility to manage Baan Manik and Cherng Talay. water supply to be enough to serve local resi- “Phuket residents use of a lot of water, dents,” Mr Somsawat said guardedly. and presently the reservoir is not enough for That understanding, however, flies in the residents and businesses in nearby areas. face of the duties and responsibilities listed “I think Phuket province needs an extra on the Royal Irrigation Department website, reservoir, and soon.