CHIANG MAI -- Garbage collectors have been illegally dumping trash in abandoned earth pits only 500 metres behind San Pa Tong Hospital for over 10 years, heavily polluting the area and creating an eyesore, local residents complain.
Residents of Nong Sariam village in tambon Yuwa of San Pa Tong district said firms contracted to collect garbage had been illegally dumping it in the abandoned pits, left after after the soil had been dug up and sold.
The rubbish was delivered surreptitiously at night.
The rotting trash gave off foul smells which permeated the hospital and nearby communities, especially during the rainy season.
Hospital staff on Tuesday morning examined the site after receiving complaints from residents.
They said there were three pits about 500 metres behind the hospital. The first one was near Ban Nong Sariam, the second at Ban Sala and the third near Wat Sri Pan Ngern, all in tambon Yuwa.
Dr Wirat Klinprathum, director of San Pa Thong Hospital, said the hospital had earlier sent a letter of complaint to Tambon Yuwa Municipality. The municipality replied that it had tried to solve the problem by putting up signs prohibiting dumping of garbage and blocked the access road to the pits with concrete bricks.
The garbage collectors had removed the signs and the concrete blocks and continued to dump the waste.
San Pa Tong police once arrested the operator of a garbage truck and fined him 1,500 baht. This temporarily halted the garbage dumping, but it soon resumed.