Year
|
Event
|
1705
|
King Süa (r. 1703-1709) began excavating the first major canal in recorded history - the Khlong Khok Kham (later renamed Khlong Maha
Chai) to connect the Chao Phraya and Tha Chin Rivers. Originally dug for transport purposes, the khlong chuam maenam would play an
important role in enabling Siamese troops to repel Burmese invaders after Bangkok was established as the capital in 1782. Begun in 1705 it was
dug in two parts. The first, called Khlong Phra Phuttha Chao Luang, extended from the Chao Phraya River to Khlong Khok Kham. The second
section, called Maha Chai Cholamak, ran 13.6 kilometers from Khlong Khok Kham to the Tha Chin River. The canal was completed the same
year by 30,000 conscripted Thai labourers. The 16 m - wide and 3 m - deep canal provided easy passage from the Chao Phraya to the mouth
of the Tha Chin at the Gulf of Thailand. A foreign engineer was employed to survey the entire route to ensure that it ran straight and true.
[Reference: The Chao Phya, River in Transition - Steve Van Beeck (1995) - page 40/41.]
|
1722
|
The fifth Khlong Lat (short cut) on the Chao Phraya River was dug in 1722. Khlong Lat Kret Noi at the town of Pak Kret was dug reducing the
journey from 6 Km to 2 Km. The sixth Khlong Lat was below Bangkok at Ratburana, just south of Khlong Toey. A 600-metre-long canal called
Khlong Pak Lat was cut across a narrow neck, effectively cutting 19 kilometers from the journey. Unfortunately, because the Chao Phya is
tide-affected, the canal introduced saline water into the upper river, damaging marine and river-bank life. (A dam would be built across its mouth
in 1784 to halt salt water intrusion. Today, of the six Wong lat, only this one has failed to become the main channel of the river.)
[Reference: The Chao Phya, River in Transition - Steve Van Beeck (1995) - page 39.]
|
| |
|
|
