The move is part of the province’s measures to reduce haze and boost public awareness of the issue. Authorities are monitoring hotspots in the region and several provinces including Chiang Mai have imposed a ban on outdoor burning until this weekend.

According to the Pollution Control Department, Lampang’s Mae Mo district (Tambon Ban Dong) reported a PM10 level at 131 micrograms per cubic metre at 9am on Wednesday.

A PM10 level exceeding 120mcg can affect people’s health.

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has set up a safety centre at the station to augment security on trains and at railway stations from Hat Yai to the three southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, which will be functional from last Monday until this Monday, said SRT southern train operation center head Banhan Kobyayang.

More carriages would be added to some trains, including the Bangkok-Sungai Kolok express, which normally has 13 carriages but will carry 15 during Songkran, while 10 local trains that run in areas considered at risk of insurgent violence will also get added carriages to accommodate the surge in travellers.

Security officers will patrol along the railway from Hat Yai to Sungai Kolok while railway police ride on the trains and bomb squads inspect major train stations including those in Hat Yai, Sungai Kolok, Tanyongmas and Yala during the period, Banhan added.

The portrait, made with a wheat-pasting technique by street artists known as Mue Bon, Kanaet, Kittinontho, TK31 and ABI, was part of the project “Nom Ramreuk Ong Akara Silapin”, or “In Memory of the Supreme Artist”.

The project was organised at the centre in downtown Bangkok to honour the late King as the country’s supreme artist and for his patronage of Thai arts and culture.

Immigration lanes for outbound travellers at Songkhla’s Sadao border checkpoint were temporarily re-designated for inbound traffic on Wednesday to accommodate a sharp rise in the number of Malaysians and Singaporeans arriving.

At least 15,000 people were expected to pass through the checkpoint ahead of the popular Hat Yai Midnight Songkran festivities taking place Wednesday night and the following day.

Officials have also prepared to recalibrate computers and temporarily make all lanes inbound in the event that the influx of travellers was even greater.

The tourists were left waiting at the airport as the staff of Wealthever, the company arranging the Songkran trip, failed to turn up. Wealthever reportedly was in the business of selling vitamin supplements.

Prayut on Wednesday said at least 2,000 tourists were suspected to have been duped.

He urged Thais people not to be gullible.

“Thais believe too easily. Don’t trust anything before checking otherwise you will be cheated,” he said.

He said the legal process in this case would commence only after the fraud victims file lawsuits.

The holidaymakers reportedly paid between Bt15,000 to Bt20,000 to the firm for the three-day trip to Japan from April 13 and 15.

THE scandal-hit Dhammakaya Temple and nearby areas are no longer a special control area, according to the Royal Gazette that came out yesterday.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has decided to ease enforcement at the site.

“We have decided to remove the temple from the special control area list,” NCPO chief and Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said.

The huge temple complex in Pathum Thani was declared a “special control area” under NCPO order no 5/2017 in February amid intensifying efforts to apprehend its honorary abbot, Phra Dhammachayo. The controversial monk is wanted on charges of money laundering in relation to a huge embezzlement case involving Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative.

The order was issued under Article 44 of the former interim charter, which gives the NCPO chief overwhelming powers.

Under the order, the temple and its surrounding areas were put under special control with soldiers, police and officials from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) surrounding the complex. From mid-February to early March, officials scoured the temple compound in an attempt to apprehend Phra Dhammachayo, but the former abbot eluded capture.

Despite facing an arrest warrant, the controversial monk has not turned himself in and remains at large.

During the crackdown, several minor confrontations occurred at the temple as a large number of Dhammakaya followers challenged authorities. Many supporters rallied at the temple to keep officials seeking to arrest him at bay.

Two deaths were reported during the period – one suicide in protest against the NCPO order, and one woman who reportedly succumbed to asthma after medical staff could not reach her in time due to the security cordon, although authorities disputed that account.

Authorities agreed to reduce the number of officials in the special control area last month, after police promised to pursue more than 300 cases against Dhammakaya Temple and its key members, including then-acting abbot, Phra Thattacheevo

HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn has also revoked monastic ranks granted to Phra Dhammachayo and Phra Thattacheevo in response to a petition from the government.

Relevant authorities including the Sangha Supreme Council and the National Buddhism Office also took steps to secure administrative control of the temple and to put it under scrutiny.

Government Spokesperson Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the NCPO had decided at its meeting yesterday that the temple should no longer be listed as a special control area because the situation had become less tense with agreements made with temple staff.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said available records suggested Phra Dhammachayo was still in Thailand. “But the latest information from the DSI suggests he may no longer be at the Dhammakaya Temple,” he said.

Suwaphan said authorities would welcome tips about Phra Dhammachayo’s whereabouts. “We will continue our efforts to have him brought to justice,” he said.