SA KAEO -- The people of Ban Dan in Aranyaprathet district want the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to look into persistent flooding in their community, which they blame on watercourse intrusion by influential land buyers.
On Tuesday they accompanied local officials on a survey of the affected area, and concluded that the flooding was caused by poor drainage in a nearby watercourse which has been partly blocked by buyers of land along its sides.
The flood water in the community is 5 to 50 centimetres deep and extends over some of the roads.
Although the law requires land owners to leave a space of at least 6 metres from a public canal or waterway when they construct a building, many have illegally extnded their land into the watercourse by filling it with soil, said Chatiphan Kaenchan, mayor of the tambon Ban Dan municipality.
The canal had become far narrower and its capacity to drain flood water had dwindled. As a result, it frequently overflowed, he said.
Since most of the land buyers intruding on the canal were influential figures, the villagers want to NCPO to launch an investigation into the matter, he said.
Phonphichit Klommali, deputy director of Sa Kaeo provincial office of the Department of Highways, said the canal will be dredged to improve drainage.