Laem Nga Beach reclaimed
Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat visited Laem Nga Beach, at the northern end of Koh Siray, last Sunday (Mar 10) to inspect plans to reclaim the beach for public use.
The visit followed local villagers gathering at the site last Thursday (Mar 7) to protest access to the beach being closed off by a private landowner.
The villagers called for public access to the beach to be restored. Many held up placards and shouted slogans, accusing private business operators of claiming exclusive rights to public land.
Police were present at the protest, but no violent incidents were reported.
In response, Vice Governor Sattha Thongkham invited the protesters to have representatives join discussions at Phuket Provincial Hall last Thursday. Present for the discussions were Ratsada Mayor Nakarin Yosaengrat and a host of other relevant officials.
At the meeting, the villagers present a list of demands, chiefly that the “private sector” must immediately restore access to Laem Nga Beach. The villagers also called for the private landowner to improve the path to the beach, make it clean and to install electric lighting to make the path safe to traverse at night.
The villagers also called for officials to investigate whether the land ownership and acquisition of the land was legal.
The road to the beach, 1.5km long and 10 metres wide, was a public road built by the Department of Rural Roads in 2016 and was designated Rural Road PorKor 4097, the villagers explained.
Provincial officials had previously inspected the area and negotiated with the landowner, Laem Nga Development Co Ltd, but the road was closed and no further action had proceeded, the villagers noted.
The company claimed that it owned the land that the last 468m of road to the beach was built on, the villagers explained.
Ratsada Mayor Mr Nakarin explained that he had already been in discussion with the landowner, who had agreed to reopen access to the beach within 15 days.
However, some villagers had already taken down some of the tin panels blocking the beach access, he noted.
Three days later, last Sunday, Governor Sophon inspected the beach. Joining Governor Sophon for the inspection were Saransak Srikruenaet, Deputy DirectorGeneral of the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA).
“Today we came to Laem Nga to inspect the area and talk with the landowner. Who have kindly opened the area to go down to the public beach,” Governor Sophon said.
“However, the Phuket Provincial Office and related agencies must help take care of safety and the matter of waste management,” he added.
“At the same time, the Muang Phuket District Chief and Ratsada Mayor have been assigned to organise guards to be on duty to maintain security, and organise rubbish bins and lighting at the entrance,” he said.
“We are also discussing having two ‘Pho Thong’ buses to facilitate tourists travelling into the Laem Nga area. If the move to have Pho Thong buses provided is supported, it will make it more convenient because the road space is narrow and there is no parking,” Governor Sophon explained.
“We also ask people to not set up sunbeds and umbrellas, or set up any sales outlets at all, at the beach. We want it to be a natural beach for the people of Phuket and so tourists can really experience nature,” he said.
“And thank you to the owner of the area who has opened a path to be able to travel to the beach, which helps to promote tourism to the area. Many tourists came to the beach before
COVID-19,” he added, noting that they will now have the opportunity to visit the beach again.
“After this there will be a Big Cleaning Day at Laem Nga, including pruning trees in the area to ensure safety for the people,” Governor Sophon said.
“I would like to leave a message to the local residents and tourists who will travel to Laem Nga. Please follow the recommendations of Ratsada Municipality, which will post signs for people to observe, such as warning against littering and setting up any shops to sell things, including sunbed and beach umbrella services,” he added.
“People are asked to strictly observe this so many people can come to fish and play in the water. Your children and grandchildren will be able to come to play in the water, because Laem Nga is a beach for everyone,” Governor Sophon concluded.
While the Governor was at the beach, local residents came to enjoy the first day of the beach being reclaimed. Governor Sophon also joined a quick cleanup of picking up trash that had washed ashore.