Tablan Park may sue protest leaders
Nakhon Ratchasima's Tablan National Park authorities are thinking about suing the people who led the protest against the demolition of resorts deemed to be encroaching on forestland.
The park officials’ initial lawsuits against encroachers had led to a court ruling ordering the razing of six resorts, which led to people blocking key roads leading to park in protest. The protest has been going on for two days now.
Forest ranger chief Thewin Meesap said yesterday that though the demolition had come to a temporary halt, the park would go ahead with taking legal action and filing police complaints against those who led protesters to obstruct officials’ work as well as tambon administrative organisations that issued documents for the construction of the resorts.
Pongthep Malachasing, president of the Wang Nam Kheow District Tourism Promotion Club, said the road blockage had only affected tourism for a short period and should not affect long-term holiday plans, especially during the New Year period. He said the conflicts had resulted from a misunderstanding between the villagers and the park.
Since all 4,000 rooms in the 400 resorts inside the park had been fully booked for the New Year holidays, he said that tourists would not have to cancel or postpone their visit to Wang Nam Kheow.
Due to the recent flood disaster, the high season has shortened from December to January rather than the usual October to February. Hence, the district expected money generated y tourism to drop to 30 per cent from the same period last year, he added.
