Still no action on Rawai Beach vendors

RAWAI: The saga of the moving of the beachfront stalls at Rawai seems no closer to an end following an announcement yesterday by Rawai Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) President Arun Sorot that the amount of land required for the project is still being calculated. Rawai OrBorTor says it plans to move 14 of the vendors’ stalls – those belonging to Rawai people – to a site behind the OrBorTor offices, at most 400 meters from their current location. K. Arun said he expects a report from the Phuket Provincial Land Office within a month, detailing how much land is needed and how much is available. He added that if not enough land is available, then negotiations would begin to buy private land, again delaying any action. This news comes just two weeks after the senior village headman (kamnan) for Rawai, Sin Polrop, told the Gazette, “The [vendors’] move [to the designated site] should start at the beginning of May.” Almost two years ago, K. Arun told the Gazette (see https://thethaiger.com/news/index.asp?Id=2780), “If they [the vendors] can’t move by June 30 [2003], officers will help them.” K. Arun said that the owners of the remaining 16 stalls, who are not Rawai people, will not be allowed to move to the new site and must instead vacate the area completely. A date for their eviction was not given.