Firebrand activist Srisuwan Janya has lambasted the government for failing to come up with effective measures to prevent flooding in the lower Central Plains.
Mr Srisuwan, president of the Stop Global Warming Association, said the "mismanagement and stupidity" of the government and related agencies attributed to the chronic flooding in the lower Central Plains, which receive water from the Chao Phraya barrage dam.
Authorities did not seem to have learned much from the catastrophic flooding in 2011, he said.
Although several state panels have been set up to combat floods, the various measures has failed to yield effective results, and people living downstream of the Chao Phraya dam had no relief from the problem, he said.
According to Mr Srisuwan, the Royal Irrigation Department's (RID) move to build new canals in Ayutthaya to handle the flood water was not successful, and local residents disagreed with the low compensation paid for the land expropriated by the authorities.
Meanwhile, the Ayutthaya municipality has urged the provincial governor, Sujin Chaichumsak, to declare flood disaster zones in the province to facilitate assistance.
Municipal mayor Somsong Sapphakosonkul said several parts of Ayutthaya were flooded and the governor should declare the affected areas disaster zones so that a contingency budget can be earmarked to tackle the problems besetting the people there.
Mr Somsong said several rivers leading to the old island city of Ayutthaya were brimming over. The water water had almost reached U-Thong Road, which serves as a floodwall for the area.
Locals were worried the old island city could be flooded because the RID and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation had stated clearly that more water will be discharged from dams, he said.
The mayor said the municipality was being urged by residents to build earth dykes one metre high around the island, particularly at the more flood-prone spots, but this would require a huge budget.
