Call for underwater cleanup volunteers

PHUKET: The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) is calling for volunteers to help clean up underwater areas off Patong, Kata and Karon Beaches this weekend.

DMCR Director Anuwat Nateewathana said, “After inspecting Phuket’s underwater areas, the coral is still in good condition though some parts have been damaged by debris from homes and other wreckage.

“We are worried that if we do not clear garbage away now, in the monsoon season large pieces of wood and wreckage will hit the [unaffected] coral and cause severe damage.”

All who can help are urged to join in, he said, adding that the clean-up operations were a coordinated effort by the DMCR, Patong Municipality and scuba diving companies.

The Patong clean-up will start at 9 am tomorrow, with volunteers meeting at the Seven Dolphins Memorial fountain on Patong Beach (where the statue of dolphins stood before the tsunami, just north of the intersection of Sawasdirak Rd and the beach road).

The clean-up operation for Kata and Karon Beaches will be on Sunday, with volunteers meeting on the beach in front of the Club Med resort in Kata.

On January 22 to 23, the DMCR will hold similar underwater clean-up campaigns off Koh Pai and Koh Yoong, in Krabi.

For more information contact DMCR officers Paitoon Panchaipum (Tel: 01-5370047) or Pairat Sutthipon (Tel: 09-2050018).