Pm Calls For Urgent Restoration Of Tourist Beaches

[george]

PM calls for urgent restoration of tourist beaches

PHUKET, Jan 2 (TNA) - Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra today greeted tourists on Patong Beach in Thailand's southern resort province of Phuket, just a week after it was hit by massive tsunamis, while calling for the urgent restoration of tourist beaches on the southern resort island.

The prime minister, who travelled to Phuket to visit survivors of last week's tsunamis and assess the damage, said after a meeting with Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula, Phuket Governor Udomsak Assawarangkura and other local officials that he had ordered for the island's beaches to be returned to order as soon as possible.

Warning that officials had to ensure against the involvement of local mafias in the restoration work, he said: "What is most important is that mafias must not ask for protection money. People who formerly traded here will have the opportunity to resume trading, but there must be order, there must investment. The provincial authorities must oversee this".

Mr. Thaksin promised that central government funding would be forthcoming if local funds proved insufficient.

While noting that the restoration of Phuket was likely to be relatively easy, the prime minister conceded that repair would at the tourist resort of Khao Lak in Phang-nga Province, which received more extensive damage, was likely to take more time.

--TNA 2005-01-02

[george]

PM tough on uncooperative officials

PHUKET: -- Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra today threatened to take action against local officials in the South who failed to cooperate with the government in reconstructing tsunami-hit areas.

On the question of beach intrusions, the premier said influential people who obstructed the rearrangement of beachfront landscapes would be dealt with. "We cannot go back to what we used to be after having learned a dear lesson," he said.

Mr. Thaksin, revisiting this southern province after a brief rest in Bangkok, said the data of disaster victims was scattered but "we have reorganized the data collection system while latest updates are necessary."

The premier added that additional forensic officials were dispatched to the South while the situation was gradually returning to normal.

Indicating the urgency to build shelters for homeless people, Mr. Thaksin said he would personally inspect military cadets' construction of temporary accommodation and tents for disaster victims.

He was positive that the reconstruction of tsunami-battered areas would not be delayed and that many areas including Phi Phi Island would be recovered within less than two weeks.

On the proposal by forensic expert Pornthip Rojanasununt to move the forensic operation center from Phuket to Phangnga, the premier disagreed with Dr. Pornthip saying Phuket was more convenient for foreign visitors while facilities in Phangnga were insufficient.

"The telecommunication system (in Phuket) has improved and we may install a VDO teleconference system here," he said.

The prime minsiter added that US Secretary of State Colin Powell would give him a courtesy call on his arrival in Thailand to personally inspect the catastrophe here.

--TNA 2005-01-01