From 11.30am to 1.30pm, about 50 signatures were collected from pedestrians and commuters passing by Tesco Lotus Extra branch.
As signatures were collected, residents took turns carrying a huge banner sign that read “Distressed... When will the Lotus tunnel [underpass] be finished?”
About 10 police officers also turned up to quitely monitor the gathering from a distance.
The gathering follows the chief of the Highways Department Phuket office chief Samak Lueduanghad on Wednesday flaming the project’s contractor for delays (story here).
Mr Samak, who met with protesters at the site today, was sympathetic with the residents after monitoring sentiments on social media, and said he will do everything in his power to ensure that their voice is heard.
The complaint and signatures will be formally presented to Phuket Governor Nisit Junsomwong tomorrow morning at 10am.
“The main point of the complaint is in regards to the delay of the opening of the underpass,” he said, noting that the contractor now expects it to be finished by no sooner than March, 2016, which would constitute a 9-month delay to the contract.
He added that the complaint includes three demands as follows:
- To not make create any more pot holes on the roads during construction
- For the contractor to install sufficient lighting and movement signals at/near the construction site.
- To tackle the problem of flooding during construction.