Govt sets up drought and forest fire centre
Govt sets up drought and forest fire centre
17 March 2005
published by http://www.mcot.org
BANGKOK, Mar 17 (TNA) – A centre for drought relief assistance and forest fire control has been set up to cope with the emergency situation during the current dry season.
The centre will increase the efficiency and coordination of drought relief assistance and forest fire control, the newly-appointed Natural Resources and Environment Minister, Yongyut Tiyapirat, told journalists at the opening ceremony on Wednesday.
The centre is located on the 7th floor of the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion building, off Rama VI Road here.
Mr. Yongyut said he would visit the country’s north-eastern provinces on Thursday to inspect the drought situation.
So far 66 provinces across the country have been hit by the drought.
The authorities expect around 70 provinces will have been hit by the drought by the end of the dry season around late April.
As part of the forest fire control effort, a 24-hour call centre on telephone number 1362 has been established by the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department to receive fire reports from across the country. (TNA)–E009