PHUKET: Manhole drains with concrete narrowing the inlets, illegal resorts constructed within 20 centimetres of canals . . . frustrated Patong Mayor Chalermlak Kebsub let fly today at Patong's greedy businesses.
''People should be less selfish,'' she said on a tour of Patong to expose why the Phuket holiday hub floods with greater intensity these days. ''Businesses should show concern for public interest and the environment.''
Thigh-high water has flooded Patong's police station and surrounded its hospital three times in the past two weeks, with more rains forecast between now and the end of the wet season in November.
Mayor Chalermlak promised flood relief and said today she had started a campaign to clear drains in beach road and other parts of Patong.
However, construction around Phangmuang Sai Kor Road - the road behind Jungceylon shopping mall - posed a new set of problems.
Royal Thai Navy 3 engineers, asked to help clear Patong's flooding problem, looked on today as the mayor toured the area with the Phuket Roads Department.
They were shown a five-storey construction that had permission to build but not to encroach on the three-metre space that was supposed to be left beside a canal. The builders left 20 centimetres. Patong Council officials must now decide whether they take back the space, which would in effect mean demolition of the entire building.
Manholes were seen along the roadside today blocked with concrete or without grates on the top, so water simply cannot flow away.
The road's constructors were supposed to have the job finished in 700 days but September 12 will mark 900 days. The explanation, a representative told officials today, was the high cost of construction on Phuket.
''We didn't realise that road building costs were 90 percent higher on Phuket than in other parts of Thailand,'' the mayor was told. ''We are having to go to Phang Nga to buy materials to truck back to the island.''
Difficult decisions have to be made but illegal constructions that block canals or reduce public access to them probably deserve to be reduced to rubble.
Long-term answers to Patong perpetual flooding problems - blocked canals and human greed - may take time to find.
''People should be less selfish,'' she said on a tour of Patong to expose why the Phuket holiday hub floods with greater intensity these days. ''Businesses should show concern for public interest and the environment.''
Thigh-high water has flooded Patong's police station and surrounded its hospital three times in the past two weeks, with more rains forecast between now and the end of the wet season in November.
Mayor Chalermlak promised flood relief and said today she had started a campaign to clear drains in beach road and other parts of Patong.
However, construction around Phangmuang Sai Kor Road - the road behind Jungceylon shopping mall - posed a new set of problems.
Royal Thai Navy 3 engineers, asked to help clear Patong's flooding problem, looked on today as the mayor toured the area with the Phuket Roads Department.
They were shown a five-storey construction that had permission to build but not to encroach on the three-metre space that was supposed to be left beside a canal. The builders left 20 centimetres. Patong Council officials must now decide whether they take back the space, which would in effect mean demolition of the entire building.
Manholes were seen along the roadside today blocked with concrete or without grates on the top, so water simply cannot flow away.
The road's constructors were supposed to have the job finished in 700 days but September 12 will mark 900 days. The explanation, a representative told officials today, was the high cost of construction on Phuket.
''We didn't realise that road building costs were 90 percent higher on Phuket than in other parts of Thailand,'' the mayor was told. ''We are having to go to Phang Nga to buy materials to truck back to the island.''
Difficult decisions have to be made but illegal constructions that block canals or reduce public access to them probably deserve to be reduced to rubble.
Long-term answers to Patong perpetual flooding problems - blocked canals and human greed - may take time to find.
''We didn't realise that road building costs were 90 percent higher on Phuket than in other parts of Thailand,'' the mayor was told.
And who was in charge for planning the project ? Probably Mickey Mouse ! These people need to be fired on the spot.
Posted by Resident on August 26, 2014 17:28