The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will be asked to review a decision by the Kanchanaburi provincial authority to compensate a contractor who failed to repair Saphan Mon, the country’s longest wooden bridge, in the province's Sangkhla Buri district.
Villagers are drawing up a petition for the NCPO asking it to “return happiness to the people” who are upset by the compensation offer, allegedly worth 10 million baht, said Somdet Sangkhlasopha, a member of Wang Ga tambon municipality council.
Locals don't understand why Por Rungruang Wassaduphan Co, which was awarded the contract to fix the bridge, was entitled to the compensation after it missed the Aug 6 deadline and still failed to complete the repair work even though the company was given 30 more days to finish the job, Mr Somdet said.
Kanchanaburi provincial authority agreed to the deal after it terminated the contract last Thursday.
The firm was hired for 16.34 million baht to carry out the required repairs on the bridge.
However, local carpenters, who are Mon descendants, estimated that the cost to finish the repair work on the bridge Por Rungruang Wassaduphan Co failed to complete to be between 3 million and 5 million baht, Mr Somdet said.
He said the villagers could not accept the decision to compensate the company because, in addition to its breach of contract, the firm's failure to finish the work they were hired to do has caused several problems in the community.
The firm's decision to alter the landscape at the foot of the bridge has resulted in erosion of the river bank.
The delayed repairs have also affected local tourism, Mr Somdet said.
The 850-metre bridge, which is the world's second longest wooden bridge after Ubeng Bridge in Myanmar, was severely damaged during heavy rainfall in July last year when its 70-metre middle section collapsed under strong currents in the Song Kalia River.
Also known as Uttamanusorn Bridge, the bridge has been used by Thai and Mon descendants in tambon Wang Ga in Sangkhla Buri district for 20 years.
The bridge was conceived by Luang Pho Uttama, the late abbot of of Wat Wang Wiwekaram, and was built mostly with the labour of Mon descendants.
Por Rungruang Wassaduphan Co blamed difficulties in acquiring construction materials for the delay.
Army engineers of the 9th Military Engineer Regiment and Mon carpenters are currently working together to repair the bridge themselves.