Leading the investigation is Adisorn Sawasdee, chief of Phuket Damrongdhama Centre (Ombudsman’s office), along with officers from the and Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command and Rawai Municipality.
Niran Hyangpan, representing sea gypsies from the village, handed over a formal complaint from the villagers at Rawai Municipality on Wednesday (Feb 8).
“Vehicles cannot easily access the village because of the these shops. The entrance is too narrow,” he said.
“The villagers are afraid that if there is a fire, it will be not easy for ambulances or fire trucks to get into the village,” he added.
Officials at the meeting explained that the land was privately owned and that the owner allowed the restaurants and shops to rent space on the land from him.
The owner allowed the the provincial government to build a rock wall along the beachfront boundary of the land, but that move had led people to believe that the land was owned by the government, a report from the meeting explained.
Officials will seek legal counsel to investigate the origins of the claim to the land and the land claimant’s rights to rent the area to private business, said the report.