Gun-toting policemen and volunteers are standing guard at the gates of irrigation canals in Phitsanulok's Phrom Phiram district as local residents continue quarrelling over water distribution.
He spoke while leading 30 villagers from his area to open the water gates.
He said Tambon Wang Won and Tambon Si Phirom were relying on water from these irrigation canals.
"It has been agreed the water gates will stay open for four consecutive days and then closed for four days to facilitate a fair distribution," Sawai said. "However, we have found that someone keeps cutting off our access."
He explained that without access to irrigation, about 20,000 rai of paddy fields in Wang Won would be affected.
"It looks like at least 3,000 rai will not be able to provide a harvest," Sawai complained.
Juang Thongchote, a rice farmer in Tambon Wang Won, said his rice crop was dying.
"If I have no irrigation this week, all my 75 rai of paddy will be damaged," he lamented.
Sawai said armed policemen and volunteers had been posted at the gates round the clock to prevent a further shortage of water, adding that a gang from Tambon Si Phirom kept closing the water gates so they could reap profits.
"They charge Bt500 per rai for the water," he added.
Currently, the Bureau of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation is producing artificial rain to counter drought and ease smog problems in several areas.
Meanwhile, the bureau's director Warawut Khattiyanont is being questioned as to why he decided to go ahead with the Bt14-million purchase of urea despite having just one bidder for the project.
Urea is a key substance for the rainmaking project.
Warawut was ordered yesterday by Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut to provide a written explanation. "He has always insisted that the procurement was transparent," Theera said.
In related news, two Senate panels are planning to visit Chiang Rai this weekend to check water levels in the Mekong.
"We want to determine if dams in China are affecting people down river," Senator Surajit Chiravet said in his capacity as chairman of the Senate sub-committee on water resources.
