More than 60 navy officers and and Territorial Defense Volunteers led by Panya Sampaorat, Mayor of Pa Khlok, along with local police, Harbor Department officials and the municipal officers checked the area near Ao Por pier and then brought in a backhoe and trucks to demolish and carry away the remains of the flimsy structures.
Mr Panya said that Pa Khlok Municipality and relevant organizations were following the instructions in Order No 32 of the National Council for Peace and Order.
Five days earlier, the municipality met with local people who signed agreements to move the structures themselves or allow them to be destroyed.
The municipality promised that if anyone lived in any of the these structures and had nowhere else to stay, temporary accommodation would be provided for them.
Pa Khlok Municipality’s next target for the clearing of structures on public land will be Naka Island.
This afternoon, the team also went to check on a large house in Pa Khlok Moo 6 and found that a part of the building extended onto the beach.
However, this was the only really solid structure encroaching. The others were wooden buildings extending over klong or on the beach where people had opened souvenir, food and drink shops. Some people had occupied public land and were charging visitors to park cars or bikes on it.
Many tourists visit the area on their way to take boats from Ao Por Pier to the islands in Phang Nga Bay, sparking a rush by local people to sell items to them.