Tsunami victims to regain access to their homes

CHALONG: Residents of Baan Fah Mai will have a bridge built so they can regain access to their village, which was cut off after excavation of a drainage ditch.

Baan Fah Mai, which is located at the end of Soi Mayuree, opposite the entrance to Land & Houses Park on Chao Fa East Rd, comprises homes for about 20 families whose former dwellings were destroyed in the 2004 tsunami.

Their new homes were built by the military on Treasury Department land, with the work funded by Deutsche Bank Asia. The homes were handed over to the families in October 2005.

Chalong Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) President Nattapong Wimolphan today explained to the Gazette that the residents presented a letter of complaint to Phuket Vice-Governor Smith Palawatwichai, complaining that the access road to the village was no longer passable, on Monday.

V/Gov Smith visited the site on Tuesday and discovered that the access road passed through private property. At the site, a drainage ditch had been excavated into a nearby public canal – leaving the Fah Mai residents with no road access to their homes.

K. Nattapong said that V/Gov Smith had asked the landowner to allow a bridge to be built across the ditch, thus reconnecting the village to the outside world.

“V/Gov Smith told me that he is still awaiting final confirmation from the landowner, who is willing to allow the bridge to be built on his property as long as it has erosion control barriers and is paid for by the government,” he said.

The Chalong OrBorTor will pay for construction of the bridge once they receive final confirmation, and a temporary structure will be provided in the meantime, he said.