Villagers say resort caused water crisis

Villagers say resort caused water crisis

Ratchaburi: The Ratchaburi governor and his staff are helping villagers in Suan Phung district who say a spillway at a local resort is blocking the waterway they use. 

Governor Surapon Sawangsak said he is working with various agencies to tackle the problem and look for a long-term solution.

The resort is owned by a former top-level policeman implicated in the alleged criminal network led by former Central Investigation Bureau chief Pongpat Chayapan.

Villagers in tambon Manaosri and tambon Suan Phung on Saturday complained that more than 500 households are suffering from water shortages which they say are caused by the resort's spillway.

Pol Col Montri Pancharoen, deputy chief of the Natural Resources and Environment Crime Suppression Division (NRECSD), said troops provided initial help by siphoning water to villagers.

The spillway cannot be demolished right away as it is evidence in an encroachment case against the Suan Phung Resort which authorities filed late last year, he said.

The upper section of the property was found to have encroached on the forest, while its lower part is leased legally from the Treasury Department. Authorities seized the resort on Nov 20 last year.

During yesterday's inspection, the governor and his team discovered that parts of stone-made houses erected behind the spillway by the resort had been removed.

Police vowed to press charges against those who removed the installations because they were to serve as evidence in the case.

Pol Maj Gen Thitirat Nonghanphitak, acting chief of the Central Investigation Bureau, said villagers' complaints showed locals were prepared to take on people in positions of influence to fight for their rights.

He said the handling of the resort case should be adopted as a model in other encroachment disputes.

Puri Netek, head of the villager group, said locals and state officials checked the waterway in 2010 to determine the cause of the low levels of water, and found it was caused by the spillway.

The resort belongs to former Samut Sakhon Immigration Police chief Kowit Muangnual and his wife Sudathip.

They were arrested in November last year for their alleged involvement in the Pongpat case.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (1)