Provincial authorities yesterday kicked off a campaign to clean up a long stretch of Hua Hin beach and reclaim public space occupied by illegal vendors.
An excavator begins demolishing restaurants which encroach on the Khao Takiab beach in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Hua Hin district. The military has vowed to restore order in public spaces and local authorities have acted swiftly against encroachers. Chaiwat Satyaem
The campaign follows a similar drive on the resort island of Phuket and is part of the military regime's efforts to stamp out encroachment on beaches and in forest reserves.
Prachuap Khiri Khan governor Veera Sriwattanatrakul yesterday chaired a meeting of officials to map out plans to reorganise the beach.
The meeting agreed the clean-up would start from the beachfront outside the Hilton Hotel and stretch as far as Khao Takiab. Cooking on the beach has been banned and all business operators will be required to take Wednesdays off, to give the shore some "respite".
Mr Veera said the campaign's next step will be to regulate food prices on the beach following complaints about some vendors overcharging customers. He said officials and business operators will meet to discuss food prices and service standards on Aug 20.
Officials identified a total of 66 business operators encroaching on the beach. They were ordered to demolish the structures housing their businesses. Of these, 22 were told they must dismantle buildings and other structures by yesterday.
Most of the vendors agreed to remove their stalls and said they understood the need to clean up the area. But some threatened to sue the authorities if the demolitions damaged their property.
Sayan Mueanmuk, 48, the owner of a restaurant in Khao Takiab, admitted that his business had encroached on the beach and agreed to its demolition. He also signed an agreement with local authorities to acknowledge new beach regulations.
However, the managers of the 22 businesses told to demolish their stalls by yesterday were not present when authorities arrived to oversee the removals.
Staff said the business owners were in Bangkok to lodge a petition against the demolitions with the Prime Minister's Office. The authorities extended the removal deadline to today.
A source close to Hua Hin municipality said yesterday that the group of 22 operators have been the subject of numerous complaints from tourists over the years. They are accused of intimidating customers who complain about high food prices.
The source said the authorities are also looking into complaints about horse riding businesses along the beach. The businesses are accused of overcharging and failing to clear up horse droppings.