Banglamung District chief delays action on South Pattaya flood canal

PATTAYA: -- Banglamung’s district chief said yet another week was needed before legal action would commence to clear South Pattaya’s main storm-drainage canal.

Chawalit Saeng-Uthai, who surveyed the clogged canal with Chonburi and Pattaya officials Sept. 12 following that weekend’s monsoon and flood, said on Sept. 20 that while clearing illegal construction and widening the canal remained an urgent priority, he still needed more time to investigate the situation.

Full story and pictures HERE

-- Pattaya Mail 2011-09-30

Nice to see one of the Pattaya newspapers actually speaking out about something rather than pandering to the police/powers that be.

It’s not the first time nothing has been done, of course. Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome two years ago made a great show about the city’s plan to remove all the structures, but work stopped shortly after press cameras left the scene.

Part of the government’s reluctance to take legal action may come from the fact one of the city’s most-popular 5-star hotels is responsible for the most-significant obstruction on the South Pattaya canal.