PHUKET: Construction around the famous Big Buddha of Phuket has been halted after a plea from hillside residents that landslips are a danger.
Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak and the Director of the Damrungtam complaints office, Praphan Kanprasang, led a deputation yesterday that looked at work being carried out below the monument.
With them went local authorities, including village chief Peachkarn Patkor, and officials from the Forests Department and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
Authorities said they believed parts of the slopes below the Big Buddha appeared high-risk when it came to potential land slips.
Vice Governor Somkiet said that Phuket supported the religious aspects of the monument's construction but was concerned as development continued downwards, below the giant statue, into public areas.
Suporn Wanichkul, who set up a foundation, now known as the Mingmongkol Faith 45 Foundation, to construct a big buddha in 2002, said construction would be halted while the safety risks were reviewed.
The project appears to be under continuous construction with funds still being solicited from the hundreds of tourists who visit the hilltop each day.
Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak and the Director of the Damrungtam complaints office, Praphan Kanprasang, led a deputation yesterday that looked at work being carried out below the monument.
With them went local authorities, including village chief Peachkarn Patkor, and officials from the Forests Department and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
Authorities said they believed parts of the slopes below the Big Buddha appeared high-risk when it came to potential land slips.
Vice Governor Somkiet said that Phuket supported the religious aspects of the monument's construction but was concerned as development continued downwards, below the giant statue, into public areas.
Suporn Wanichkul, who set up a foundation, now known as the Mingmongkol Faith 45 Foundation, to construct a big buddha in 2002, said construction would be halted while the safety risks were reviewed.
The project appears to be under continuous construction with funds still being solicited from the hundreds of tourists who visit the hilltop each day.
The area you show in your photo is a danger if they stop and do not finish or pave over it (of course they could remove it altogether). Once paved over it will be of no danger and is of little danger to anything below even now as it is not full of boulders and being on the top of the hill it will receive very little water saturation or buildup needed for a land slip. I hope they are allowed to finish before the rain comes back that added space is a good idea. I have walked up and down that part of the hill many times the project doesn't concern me in the least even if I lived below it and right now there are no homes below that section of the hill. It is the part you don't show on the back side of Big Buddha were they are building a path that is and will remain a dangerous area as it goes right up to the cliff were any loss of land or building materials will fall strait down hundred of meters now that area could use a good engineering assessment.
Posted by mike on March 3, 2014 10:43