Rawai sea gypsy homes spared

RAWAI: Four sea gypsy houses originally slated for demolition have been spared the wrecking ball in Phuket Provincial Highway Office’s (PPHO) road-widening project in Rawai.

Sarayuth Intarawichien, Assistant Project Manager of the PPHO, told the Gazette that the road-widening project will be finished by the contract date in March next year. The project began in May and extends along Chao Fa West Rd, from Darasamut intersection to Chalong Circle and on to Rawai Beach.

“The road that passes the sea gypsies’ houses is already finished and it has no effect on their daily lives. We were flexible in building this road, basing it on the physical characteristics of the area, which is why some parts of the road are narrower than the original design.

“The road is designed to be 20.6 meters wide, but has been reduced to about 18.6m near the sea gypsies’ houses, but the reduced width does not affect passing traffic,” he said.

Niran Yangpan, one of the sea gypsies who lives in one of the houses that were to be demolished, said he was happy with the outcome.