Phuket

Karon Mayor: Phuket seafood vendors will be charged with beach encroachment

Published

8 years ago

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Karon Mayor: Phuket seafood vendors will be charged with beach encroachment | Thaiger

PHUKET: Karon Mayor Tawee Thongcham warned Phuket seafood vendors with stalls set up along Kata Beach that they will be charged with beach encroachment.

The warning follows raids on beach touts led by Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak on November 28 – Loy Krathong.

The raids, which included officers from the Muang District Office, Karon Municipality and local police, specifically targeted the area near the Kata Beach Resort and Spa.

“We have repeatedly warned them [beach food vendors] about setting up stalls and serving food along the beach. Each time we raid them, they packed up and leave – but they keep coming back,” Mayor Tawee explained.

“We needed the support of the provincial authorities to get them to stop, because we alone [Karon Municipality] do not have the authority to force them to move,” he added.

Prapan Kanprasang, chief of the Damrongtham Center (provincial ombudsman’s office) at Phuket Provincial Hall, confirmed that his office can do nothing to protect the beach vendors who are illegally setting up their stalls on public beachfront land.

“The raids on November 28 came after the Damrongtham Center received a complaint about the seafood beach vendors. The complaint claimed that hotel guests in the area were not only being adversely affected by seafood barbecues on the beach, but also by fireworks, fire lanterns and fire dance shows on the beach,” Mr Prapan said.

“On November 28, the operators were warned to immediately pull down their stalls and stop cooking seafood. We empowered Karon Municipality to remove the vendors. If the vendors persist, legal action will be taken against them,” he added.

The move to evict seafood vendors from Kata and Karon beaches comes in the wake of a “beach cleanup” campaign that began softly last month with the municipality issuing warning letters to beach vendors in the area, including those selling food at beachfront roadside stalls or from motorbikes with sidecars.

“After issuing warnings, we fined many vendors, with each one facing a fine of up to 2,000 baht,” Mayor Tawee said.

“However, some of them still came back to sell food on the beach. Three vendors in particular are always there. They refuse to move,” he added.

The disrespect for the law earned the food vendors a series of raids by municipal officers evicting them from their usual food stations on November 1.

Mayor Tawee explained that vendors may continue to sell fruit on the beach and massage operators remain unaffected.

However, all cooked food on beaches and hawkers of any other items must go.

“According to the Cleanliness and Tidiness of the Country Act 1992, beach vendors cannot sell food on the beach or on in any public areas. Doing so is considered illegal, and this includes any motorbike food vendors who park and sell food on the road,” Mayor Tawee said.

“Sidecars and other motorists who park on the road to sell food are also illegal under traffic regulations because they block traffic,” he concluded.

Wanchaloem Hemsalamad of Karon Municipality’s Public Health and Environment Office clarified that legally registered restaurants that have been inspected and approved by health officials and issued a license to prepare and sell food may do continue to do so.

Additional reporting by Irfarn Jamdukor

— Chutharat Plerin

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News Categories: Phuket

Tourism

Phuket’s July Sandbox no-quarantine model “needs a major revamp”

Published

5 hours ago

Saturday, April 17, 2021

Tim Newton

Phuket’s July Sandbox no-quarantine model “needs a major revamp” | Thaiger

PHOTO: The monsoon waves are starting to hit Phuket's west coast

Thailand’s Sports and Tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is acknowledging that Phuket’s ‘Sandbox’ model for a no-quarantine re-opening in July will need “a major revamp”. As the Songkran travel bubble bursts and the monsoon season waves start to roll onto the island’s west coast beaches, Phuket’s scheduled July re-boot suddenly seems a long way off.

Minister Phiphat says he plans to meet with “all related agencies” this week. Apart from the latest national re-surge in new infections, Phuket has been unable to get its hands on sufficient vaccines to meed its deadline of 70% of the island vaccinated by July 1. Thailand’s limited supplies of the vaccine – including some 930,000 doses designated for Phuket – are being rerouted to other provinces as the government prioritises the limited supply.

“We are all concerned about the reopening timeline,” he was quoted in Bangkok Post.

But the Minister did acknowledge that, if the 70% vaccination level couldn’t be met, they may consider opening some areas of the island. Exactly how that would work hasn’t been revealed at this stage.

The minister also brought up the ongoing travel bubble negotiations and says he hadn’t heard back from some of the candidates with their reaction to the current outbreak.

Flights in and out of Phuket Airport’s international terminal have been extremely patchy and the flights from feeder tourist markets will need to co-operate with any re-opening plans.

Phuket, whilst suffering a rise in new infections, hasn’t been hit as hard as some of the other popular holiday provinces, like Chiang Mai, Chon Buri (Pattaya) and Prachuap Khiri Khan (Hua Hin).

This year’s Songkran was going to be a major stepping stone for the island’s recovery and many hotels, some who had opened especially to cater for Songkran holiday traffic, noted a lot of cancellations just prior to the break.

But some island hotels have still reported high occupancy rates over the past week. One Manager, who did not want his name published, said that their hotel was almost full with Thai patrons, most who had pre-paid for their flights and accommodation and decided to go ahead anyway.

Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, the president of the Phuket Tourist Association, says that they are opposed to any lockdown as it would cripple the island, with its tourist businesses already suffering greatly. He stated that 15% of people cancelled their Songkran bookings, while 30% had postponed their trips.

The Sports and Tourism Ministers is still in quarantine after having close contact with Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, who was diagnosed with Covid-19 2 weeks ago.

Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Phuket begs Kolour attendees to come for Covid-19 testing

Published

22 hours ago

Friday, April 16, 2021

Neill Fronde

Phuket begs Kolour attendees to come for Covid-19 testing | Thaiger

FILE PHOTO: Kolour in the park was more pleasant in 2018 before Covid-19.

Health officials in Phuket put out a public statement this week compelling all foreigners who attended clubs and Kolour events to report for Covid-19 testing. As many might expect, the response has been lacklustre at best. Spreading the message around the foreigner and expat community in Phuket, the message is aimed at the multitudes of people, mostly foreign who attended Kolour and related events that turned into a Covid-19 superspreader event. Many foreigners have not come forward, much to health officials chagrin.

Online and on social media, foreigners and Thais shed light on why this urgent public health request is going largely unheeded. Foreigners fear the repercussions of coming forward, especially since Thailand is not allowing staying home or elsewhere in isolation if someone tests positive for Covid-19. Quarantine is mandatory, and with infection numbers exploding across the country, many fear the less-than-posh comforts of being quarantined in an emergency field hospital.

Cost is the other factor that likely is preventing foreigners from turning themselves in to be tested for Covid-19. While Phuket health officials may test people for free, anyone found infected with Covid-19 will be financially responsible for all the costs of their treatment and quarantine. Foreigners with limited financial resources, especially after a year of holing up in Thailand to ride out the Coronavirus, may resist reporting to authorities when they cannot afford the mandatory quarantine and medical treatment.

Perhaps recognizing this hesitation, the message includes a plea for all attendees to self-quarantine and self-monitor for any symptoms over the next week, even if they fail to report or test negative. The note also reminds everyone to wear masks in public at all times. The statement to the public also instructed anyone who attended any of the Covid-19 spreading nightlife events to report to the Acute Respiratory Infection Clinic area of Vachira General Hospital to receive a Covid-19 swab test.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News

Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Pattaya, Phuket and Hua Hin brace for increased restrictions

Published

1 day ago

Friday, April 16, 2021

Tim Newton

Pattaya, Phuket and Hua Hin brace for increased restrictions | Thaiger

Three of Thailand’s biggest expat areas are seeing sharp rises in new infections, partly from pre-Songkran traffic. The Songkran holidays, now officially over (but will see many people taking today off and making a weekend Songkran extension), and the government says they are expecting to see a rise in the cases numbers reported in the popular holiday locations.

Chon Buri Public Health office says they now have a total of 910 infections since April 1. They have 103 new cases in the past 24 hours. Most new cases are in Bang Lamung district which includes Pattaya City with 47, Siracha with 12) & Chon buri City with 8.

Pattaya, Phuket and Hua Hin brace for increased restrictions | News by Thaiger

Meanwhile Phuket has a total of 142 infections recorded on the island with the Governor still insisting there will be no need for a lockdown. Here’s a breakdown of the areas and the numbers of recorded infections so far (below).

Governor Narong announced that the Phuket Infectious Disease Control Committee won’t be implementing an official lockdown, but will “strictly raise the intensity of public health measures to counter the spread of Covid-19″.

“Everyone should wear a face mask, maintain social distancing, wash their hands frequently and install the Mor Chana app (available for free from App Store and Google Play Store).”

A meeting of the CCSA, chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is expected to upgrade restrictions in red zone areas around the country, which includes Phuket and Pattaya. Read more about the latest red and orange zones HERE.

Pattaya, Phuket and Hua Hin brace for increased restrictions | News by Thaiger

For Hua Hin expats, there’s been 100 new Covid-19 infections announced in Prachuap Khiri Khan in the past 24 hours, 75 cases from Hua Hin. This takes the total in the province since April 1 to 625. Hua Hin accounts for nearly 90% of the district’s total cases.