Rainy Season Is Back, and So Are Pattaya's Floods
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Established in 1993 Pattaya’s First English Language Newspaper VOL.XXVI No. 18 FRIDAY MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2018 25th Year 30 BAHT Rainy season is back, and so are Pattaya’s floods A lonely motorcyclist tries to make his way through flood waters on Pattaya 3rd Road. Songkran is over and the rainy season has returned. And the usual flooding problems have come back with it. Tropical storms over the past week have caused many local roads to turn into rivers with 40-60 centimeters of storm runoff disabling traffic. (Full story on page 3.) 2 FRIDAY MAY 4, 2018 PATTAYA MAIL VOL. XXVI No. 18 Pattaya officials helpless as Floating restaurants advised city’s garbage crisis worsens against dumping trash overboard Jetsada Homklin Jetsada Homklin Three floating restaurants Pattaya’s current garbage have been cautioned to make collector won’t invest in sure they properly dispose of more trucks or staff, its their garbage following a video dumps are at capacity and showing garbage stacked up the budget already is busted. on their sterns, with some The city’s trash crisis is slipping overboard. getting worse and city hall Pattaya Deputy Mayor appears helpless to solve it. Bandit Kunnajukr chaired an City council Chairman Anan April 26 meeting on the res- Ankanawisan met with taurant boats popular with Pattaya’s mayor, his top Asian tour groups a month deputies, local environmental after the video circulated. agencies and other city de- Following the controversy, partment heads April 27 to a recent inspection found brainstorm ideas on what to The city’s trash crisis is getting worse and city hall that the Navachakprad, do with the tidal wave of waste Pattaya Deputy Mayor Bandit Kunnajukr chairs a appears helpless to solve it. Piriyapong, and New Orien- Pattaya is drowning in. meeting advising three floating restaurants to make tal were storing all their sure they properly dispose of their garbage. Environmental workers said the current trash collector has and getting worse. rubbish in black bags at the the original estimate that proven unable to keep up. With no solutions on the stern of each boat and no Nonetheless, Bandit said, pollution could result in Pattaya is generating 450 tons Yet, at the same time, the con- table, Anan simply ordered trash was found in the sea all three operators were fines and possible revocation of garbage is wrong by as much tractor refuses to spend more the sanitation department to around them. advised that any subsequent of their licenses. as 30 percent now. The Khao on trucks or staff. accurately calculate how Maikaew dumpsite is nearly off Anan said Pattaya’s contract much trash is piling up per limits and the Sukhumvit Soi 3 with the trash collector is fin- day so a new online bid can transfer station cannot accept ished, but admitted city hall be started for a new contractor Speedboats again banned any more garbage. dropped the ball and has not and calculate a new budget Meanwhile, trash cans around yet organized a new bid. to solve the problem, even the city are overflowing and Basically, city officials ac- though no one can say what from Pattaya Beach left uncollected for days as knowledge, things are bad the money will be spent on. Two-pet limit enforced in Plutaluang Patcharapol Panrak Plutaluang has started en- forcing a 26-year-old law, with fines up to 5,000 baht, barring sub-district residents from owning more than two unregistered pets. Anchalee Paengprom, director of the Public Health and Environment Department, confirmed April 26 that the 1992 Public Health Act decree against ownership of more Plutaluang has started enforcing a 26-year-old law than two cats and dogs is barring sub-district residents from owning more being vigorously enforced than two unregistered pets. again in light of Chonburi Pattaya City Council Chairman Anan Ankanawisan toured Bali Hai’s floating being declared a “red zone” than is legally allowed. Department for a checkup speedboat docks with Marine Department Director Eakaraj Kantaro and for rabies infections. A large sign was recently and vaccinations. municipal police chief, Pol. Maj. Jirawat Sukontasap April 24. She said the department erected in the Sattahip sub- So while shocked residents are up in arms, saying the has received more than 40 district reminding people Jetsada Homklin Jirawat Sukontasap April 24 The idea of relocating complaints about dogs chasing, about the law. It points out local government is trying to to check on the readiness of speedboats to the pier was barking or biting people. that anyone having more ban their pets, they can, in Speedboat operators again the facilities before the May quietly forgotten until Residents are letting their than two animals must take fact, keep them if they are were banned from loading 1 “D-Day”. Chonburi’s governor vis- dogs loose and keeping more them to the Public Health cleared for rabies and other and offloading customers on In February last year the ited Pattaya earlier this year diseases and registered. Pattaya Beach on May 1, army barred speedboats and and said using the beach as One person the law won’t nearly a year after they were tourist ferries from using a loading/unloading point daunt is local celebrity, Sawang told to dock on the sand Pattaya Beach, forcing them was unsafe and Pattaya’s Poltamai, 61, who keeps more than 50 dogs he rescued from because Bali Hai Pier all to utilize pontoons in- administrators needed to the streets. He gained notoriety couldn’t handle the traffic. stalled at Bali Hai Pier after finish the job they started by having two dogs join him Pattaya City Council Chair- the military demolished the last year. on his sidebar motorbike to man Anan Ankanawisan pier’s speedboat ramp and A city council meeting solicit leftover food from lo- toured Bali Hai’s floating kicked operators out of the quickly was called where cal restaurants. speedboat docks with Ma- parking area. Chonburi Deputy Gov. He said all his animals are rine Department Director The new process quickly Chawalit Saeng-Uthai ex- safe and clean and will reg- Eakaraj Kantaro and munici- proved untenable as it be- tracted pledges from ister any that need it. pal police chief, Pol. Maj. came clear the military didn’t Pattaya’s city and military properly calculate how many leaders that, for safety rea- speedboats needed dock sons, boats would be space. Criticized on social moved back to Bali Hai as media and shamed by pho- soon as possible. tos of long lines, disabled Little was said publicly passengers unable to board about the transition pro- boats and people falling cess, however, leaving many on wobbly pontoons, the questions about how and military surrendered and where tourists will catch sent everyone back to the their boats to Koh Larn un- beach in March 2017. answered. VOL. XXVI No. 18 PATTAYA MAIL FRIDAY MAY 4, 2018 3 Pattaya Beach restoration resumes, August completion promised Jetsada Homklin After a month’s delay, the rebuilding of Pattaya Beach is underway again with Mayor Anan Charoenchasri vowing the long-delayed project finally will be completed by August. Restarted in early March following a 15-month sus- pension, the sand-refill project at the far northern end of Pattaya Beach was halted March 20 when the Marine Department decreed that the sand brought in from The rebuilding of Pattaya Beach is underway again with Mayor Anan Charoenchasri Koh Rang Kwian, a small vowing the long-delayed project finally will be completed by August. island off Pattaya’s coast approximately 10 kilometers shore. The sand then will be before years of costly delays Plans to rebuild Pattaya to the west of Koh Larn, hauled in to the beach as and restarts, calls for Pattaya Beach began in 2011 when didn’t match Pattaya’s needed. Beach to be widened to 35 researchers from Chula- beachfront well enough. The sand is darker than that meters from north to south, longkorn warned that the The entire project plan was native to Pattaya, but the con- with an extra 15 meters of sand beach would disappear within sent back to consultants at sultants insisted that once it added below the waterline. five years if nothing was Chulalongkorn University was spread on the beach, the Contractors also plan to done to counter erosion. Yet who twice before had rec- sun would bleach it to a white- install geotextile mesh rein- despite the urgent warnings, ommended the wrong sand. ness that matches Pattaya’s forcements under the sand funding for the project was This time, however, they main- own sand within a few days. along the waterline designed repeatedly delayed. tain they made the right call. Contractors who have already to mitigate erosion. Pattaya has sporadically Hauling of sand from Koh placed the new sand on Anan said contractors as- performed stop-gap refill Rang Kwian has resumed about 100 meters of the north- sured him the entire job can projects that only extended with the stockpile stored in ernmost shoreline concur. be completed within 120 the beach’s life expectancy barges resting on landfill The project, budgeted in 2011 days, or by the end of August a few years. poured about a kilometer off at 483-million-baht project at the latest. In 2014, the lead consult- ant in Chulalongkorn’s Ge- ology Department said that in 1952 Pattaya Beach cov- Rainy season is back, ered 96,128 sq. meters and was, on average, 35.6 meters wide. By 2011, the beach had and so are Pattaya’s floods shrunk to as little as 3.5 Jetsada Homklin meters.