A public hearing held in the Phuket district of Kathu has shown that participants are overwhelmingly in agreement with extending nightlife hours. The Phuket News reports that the hearing was held at the Kathu Wittaya School yesterday, November 14, with over 800 people attending.
Obviously there were plenty of people who earn a living from Phuket’s nightlife present at the meeting.
The purpose of the forum was to seek their views and hear any objections to the government’s proposal to extend the closing time for nightlife venues in some zones from 2am to 4am. The end result was a unanimous show of hands in favour.
The meeting was chaired by Theeraphong Chuaychu, Kathu District Chief, who says local residents, business operators, officials, and academics were all represented.
“This forum is so that the operation will be done carefully and in order to obtain complete information for consideration. The Interior Ministry has ordered 4 pilot provinces, namely Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, and Phuket, to open a forum to listen to the opinions of citizens, civil society, and stakeholders, to cover all professional groups.”
The next stage will involve local authorities agreeing the areas where the extended hours will apply. It’s understood 6 areas in Kathu are being considered, all of them in Patong.
District officials and local business operators will now work together to compile a plan of the relevant areas, along with details of how they will be managed. The plan then needs to be submitted to the Interior Ministry by Friday, November 17.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
