The meeting was attended by Phuket Town Mayor Saroj Angkanapilas along with the executive committee of Phuket City Municipality. Representatives from the private sector, including the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, Phuket Industrial Council, Phuket Tourism Industry Council, Chartered Tourism Community Enterprise, Phuket Old Town community, and various community presidents within the Phuket Municipality area, also participated and presented information.
The Office of the Decentralizstion Commission for Local Administrative Organisations, serving as the secretary of the committee, gathered valuable insights during the site visit, said an official report of the meeting.
The information gathered during the visit will be presented to the Decentralisation Committee for Local Government Organisations for further consideration in determining Phuket City Municipality’s potential development into a special local government organisation, the report said.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
On Saturday (July 13), Mr Mongkolchai, along with his team, visited the waste incineration plant at Saphan Hin and the water treatment plant operated by Phuket City Municipality.
In the afternoon, the group inspected the water plant receiving point from Kathu Municipality, located behind the Lotus’s shopping mall on the bypass road in Samkong.
They also reviewed a dam construction project by the Phuket Provincial Public Works and Town & Country Planning Office and received a summary of the flooding issues in Phuket Municipality. They also examined the raw water source for tap water production and discussed the recurring flooding problem at Soi Phaniang.
On Sunday, the delegation met with community leaders and residents to address longstanding issues in the Hua Tha community and the mangrove forests at Baan Ao Kung on Phuket’s east coast. Mr Mongkolchai, who also serves as the secretary of the Committee for Supervising and Monitoring Problem Solving of the Assembly of the Poor, visited the Al-Islah Mosque area in Mai Khao to engage with local leaders and residents.
The Ban Ao Kung Mangrove Forest Conservation Group presented issues concerning the Hua Tha - Tha Ton Kho community, particularly about the encroachment claims on five villagers’ houses in the Baan Kho En area.
Villagers asserted that they had been living and earning a living in these homes since before 1994, and the community now comprises 52 households. The relevant authorities will need to verify this information using military maps or related aerial photographs to confirm land ownership and seek a resolution, said an official report of that visit.
The visit continued to Ban Ao Kung in Moo 9, Pa Khlok, where the group followed up on the mangrove forest problems affecting the coastal community.
As the secretary of the Committee for Supervising and Monitoring Problem Solving of the Assembly of the Poor, Mr Mongkolchai emphasised the need to consider how this area is being occupied. The process will be discussed further, and the committee will present facts and collect information to resolve the community’s issues, he assured.