Dredge operations judged to be illegal

SATUN: Authorities on Thursday ordered the closure of three unauthorised sanddredging operations in Khuan Kalong district of the southern province.

A team comprising police, local governing officials and officials from the provincial industry office, the Marine Department and the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division inspected the three sites following complaints from local residents.

The first was on the banks of a stream in Ban Palmthai and a backhoe was found parked near the sand banks.

Saman Khunphaen, 58, told authorities that he owns the land where the sanddredging operation took place.

He said that his plot faces soil erosion brought on by annual forest run-off.

Therefore, he struck a reciprocal deal in which the backhoe’s owner would level the land in exchange for the owner’s permission to take sand and soil near the banks of the stream, Mr Saman said.

However, an initial check by authorities has found the backhoe’s owner had no relevant licence from the provincial industry office.

The other two spots where sand-dredging was discovered were in Moo 8 of Ban Khlonog Nuea. They were halted by authorities after it was found none of the operators had licences.

Rampant sand dredging in the southern provinces, such as in Phatthalung and Satun, has led to local complaints about river bank erosion, river blockages or diverted river courses due to the practice.

Authorities were checking if they also violated the Act on Navigation in Thai Waters as a number of unauthorised sand-dredging operations were carried out near rivers.

Natthapong Homchaikaew, a factory inspector from the Satun industry office, said that sand-dredging operators at the three locations were in the process of applying for licences but they had not yet been granted.

The industry office will forward the matter to the Khuan Kalong district to fine the operators, Mr Natthapong said.