SURIN: The people of Khok Pued village in Sangkhla district have suffered for decades, dependent on the single muddy and potholed dirt road that connects their village to the rest of the world.
They say that despite repeated requests the road has never been upgraded, or even repaired.
They have finally run out of patience and on Friday took their misery to local media, pleading for help.
The road is the only way the 125 households at Kok Pued in tambon Ban Jarn can get to downtown Sangkhla district.
During the rainy season, road accidents are frequent. Vehicles taking people for medical treatment must slowly make their way along the treacherous road. Pregnant women arrive late at hospitals; some end up giving birth along the way.
About 15 representatives on Friday led local reporters along the dirt road, which was filled with potholes. Local people had used their own farm tools to make what repairs they could to the road surface before the wet season arrived.
They want authorities to allocate a budget for repairs to the road, and actually get the work done.
Spokeswoman Oranee Rime, 29, said she had lived there with her grandparents since she was 14. The road had never been improved. it was always in poor condition. The village was about 3 kilometres from the Sangkhla-Chom Phra Road, but it took more than a half an hour to travel the horrendous road.
During rainy season it was at its worst - slippery and muddy, rutted and potholed. There were many accidents. She could not see any smooth surface, she said.
Seven months ago, she accompanied a pregnant relative on a pickup truck to give birth at Sangkhla Hospital. Poor road conditions made it hard for the vehicle to take her relative to the hospital in time. The woman had to give birth along the road, she said.
Most students rode motorcycles to school. When it rained they arrived at school with mud all over their uniforms.
Residents had repeatedly asked the tambon administration organisation about repairs to the road, but always got the same answer. “Waiting for a budget. No budget’’, said Ms Oranee.
She and other residents wondered why nearby villages had concrete roads or paved roads through their paddy fields, while her village had been neglected.
Wilai Singkhawehol 42, said he had lived at Khok Pued since he was born and the road had always been in this condition. Many vehicles used the road to go to Sangkhla but no improvements were ever made.
He had twice taken pregnant women in his pickup truck to give birth at hospital. One woman almost had her baby along the way, and the other woman gave birth in his vehicle. He could not drive fast enough to get them to hospital in time because of the state of the road.
Khemmikar Saendee, 8, a Prathom Suksa 2 student at Ban Jarn School, about 5 kilometres from the village, said her grandfather takes her to school on his motorcycle, which slips and slides alarmingly when it rains.
Itthiphon Ruamphattana, chairman of Ban Jan tambon administration organisation said the TAO’s 300,000-baht proposal to pave the road with gravel had been approved. Construction of the first 2.5 kilometres would start soon after the rainy season.
The main road out of Khok Pued village in Sangkhla district, Surin.(Clip: Nopparat Kingkaew)