Officials investigating the cause of last Friday’s devastating landslide in Phuket have honed on the island’s famous Big Buddha landmark.
Yesterday, August 27, officials from the Royal Forest Department visited the site and confirmed they found evidence of illegal encroachment into a reserve forest in the Nak Kerd hills above Kata.
In the early hours of Friday, around 5am, August 23, torrential rainfall triggered a deadly landslide at the location, with 9 Burmese workers, 2 Thai women, and a Russian husband and wife killed.
Local residents were quick to point the finger at the Big Buddha complex, which has seen considerable expansion in recent years, sitting atop the hill. Many accused the encroachment of the expanding ‘business’ of being the root cause of the deforestation that made the hills more susceptible to landslides during heavy rainfall.
Yesterday’s investigation into construction at the complex has uncovered illegal expansion that exceeded the original permission granted. Attending the site inspection was Wathanapong Suksai, head of the Phuket office of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Sorasak Rananan, director of the provincial office of the Forestry Centre.
They were joined by a number of other ministry and forestry officials, as well as officials from the Phuket office of the Internal Security Operations Command, a number of local officials, and officers from Karon Police.
Wathanapong later explained that in 2002, the Big Buddha complex had been given permission to occupy 15 rai of protected forest at the top of Nak Kerd Hill. However, during yesterday’s visit, officials discovered that construction had expanded to around 40 rai.
The focus of their investigation now is to determine if permission was granted for the expanded development.
Phuket MP Chalermpong Saengdee says it’s not clear if permission was granted to add buildings at the site, which is 300 metres above sea level. The law dictates that special permission is needed for any buildings more than 80 metres above sea level.
The MP pointed out that one of the buildings and the car park have both been constructed over a natural waterway. This may have caused the runoff of rainwater to be diverted, posing a landslide risk.
Big Buddha cost 30 million baht when it was originally constructed in 2004, with funds sourced primarily from donations. Wikipedia says the edifice was built legally “in a national conserved forest with the approval of Thai Royal Forest Department”.
SOURCE: The Phuket News | The Phuket Express
