Governor leads the way. Cleaning Tha Chin Canal in honour of HM Queen’s Birthday

In honor of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s 85th birthday, a large group of locals and officials, led by Phuket’s Governor Noraphat Plodthong, boarded 62 boats to collect rubbish on the 10 kilometre stretch of Tha Chin Canal in Ratsada (to the north and east of Phuket Town).

Governor Plodthong says cleaning the canal has been a priority for the island. ”To celebrate HM the Queen’s Birthday and to help creating sustainable tourism for Phuket, we are here to clean up the main canal. Ratsada is an expansive sub-district and, together, must keep the area clean and beautiful.”

“Phuket has an increasing number of tourists every year. In the past 12 months we welcomed 13-15 million tourists. However, there’s a price to pay, as the more people come on the island, the more trash we generate. Phuket is the 5th province in terms of garbage production throughout Thailand. This is why we all have to help each other,” said the Governor.

PHOTOS: Kritsada Mueanhawong