Park chief to make encroachment complaint

THALANG: The Chief of Sirinat Marine National Park said today that he will report to the police at Cherng Talay Police Station tomorrow (July 2) that the park is being encroached upon in the area of Layan Beach. The Chief, Thanapong Aphaiso, went with park officers yesterday afternoon to check the southern end of the park, around Moo 6, Baan Layan, and found some 20 rai fenced off with barbed wire and separated into plots, some of which had coconut trees growing on them. The officials estimated that the coconut trees were about five years old. One plot, of seven rai, was found to have a two-bedroom Chiang Mai-style wooden house on it. Local people told park officers that the land and house, which was unoccupied, were for sale for 120 million baht. K. Thanapong, who took over as Chief of Sirinat Park three months ago, said that he had been ordered by his superiors to check the park’s 13,000 rai of land and 40,000 rai of marine territories. He said that notices would be affixed to each piece of land thought to be encroaching on the park, demanding that the occupiers provide evidence within 15 days that the land is theirs. If this evidence is not forthcoming, he said, any structure would be removed, along with the barbed wire fences. He said that he was sure that the land in question encroached on the park, but added that he would check the park boundaries with the Thalang Land Office today.