Sniffing for excessive exhaust emissions were officials from the Traffic Police Division, Pollution Control Department (PCD) and Don Mueang District Office. They spent about two hours flagging down truckers close to Don Mueang Airport.

Twelve of the 25 trucks checked were found to be belching black smoke containing pollutants in excess of safety standards.

PCD environmental specialist Thawatchai Kaewpakdee said the department was empowered under Sections 55 and 56 of Vehicle Act to order the drivers of the 12 trucks to keep them off the road while the necessary engine improvements are made, and that has to be done within 30 days.

Operators of trucks that miss the deadline can be fined up to Bt5,000.

Park officials and staff of the Surveillance and Monitoring Centre for Leatherback Turtles on Thursday gently moved 85 healthy eggs from a place on Hat Thai Mueang Beach where an adult female was seen nesting – the first spawning of the season – to another sandy locale near the park office.

From there, the emerging babies will have quicker and safer access to the sea.

They have to incubate just under the surface for 65 days, which puts their birthdays at the end of this week.

Park official Nipon Srisamut said the sand above the eggs was being monitored round the clock. “When the sand where they’re embedded collapses, it means the baby turtles are climbing out of their shells.”

With human involvement limited to taking photos and videos, the hatchlings will be allowed to claw their own way out of the hole and rely on natural instinct to find the direction to the sea.

He made the remark at a conference on Wednesday (January 15), saying that if the BMTA adopted the original plan approved by the Cabinet in 2019, it might lead to improvement in the short-term, but would eventually land the public transport agency back in losses again.

“The new business rehabilitation plan aimed to solve traffic congestion and air pollution, providing better service and lower fares,” he said.

“We expected the BMTA borad to review the plan and submit it to the Ministry of Transport within February this year. It would take less than a month before the proposal is forwarded to the Cabinet”.

BMTA Director Surachai Eamvachirasakul said the main objective of the new rehabilitation plan is that the authority will rent 3,000 buses instead of buying new vehicles and improving existing ones.

“The authority will pay the rental fees depending on actual running distance (baht/per kilometre) to reduce the cost of procurement and maintenance which is currently at a high level of approximately Bt50 per kilometre,” he said.

“In addition, the authority will focus on renting air-conditioned buses driven by eco-friendly fuel, such as hybrid buses or buses that use electricity or natural gas. Also, we will collect fares in the form of daily tickets and monthly tickets with an unlimited number of trips, along with individual tickets to reduce the cost for passengers”.

He said the new proposal will lower the investment by Bt11 billion from Bt27.21 billion under the orginal plan which called for Bt14.11 billion on buying and improving buses, Bt7.09 billion on rentals, and Bt6 billion for an early retirement project.

“The new plan needs a total investment of just Bt16 billion, divided into Bt10 billion of government subsidies under Thailand International Public Sector Standard Management System and Outcomes (PSO), at Bt2 billion per year for five years, and Bt6 billion for an early retirement scheme,” he said.

“Moreover, the authority will lower the number of routes from 269 to 104 routes because we found that more than 20-30 routes were overlapping”.

He added that BMTA will invite affiliate bus service providers with licences to from a network, pricing fares equal to that of the BMTA at Bt30 throughout the day.

“This guideline is not complusory, but we believed the affiliate bus service providers would cooperate with us,” he added. “If some of them did not agree, they can collect fare at the rate of Bt15-25 per trip. This may cause people to pay more, but it is up to them”.

Meanwhile, Patthawadee Klomcharoon, an affiliate bus service operator and former president of the affiliate bus operator association, said that they are ready to support the new plan and ready to team up with the BMTA.

“We will bring over 1,500 buses to provide services on 50 routes. We believe the guideline will generate revenue with low risk as we will only be responsible for the maintenance cost,” she said.

Whichai Phochanakij, director-general of the Department of Internal Trade, said on Thursday (January 16) he had asked the Thai Pharmacies Association to get large pharmacies to submit lists of the prices they charge.

The initial focus is on 3,000 drugs available online at www.dit.go.th under Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients.

“People viewing the website or scanning the code will be able to decide whether to buy from the pharmacy if it’s cheaper or fill a prescription at the hospital,” Whichai said.

The meeting acknowledged the results of measures implemented under the fruit development strategy (2015 to 2019).

The agencies considered the draft operational plan for fruit development (2022 to 2026). This plan consists of four strategies:

First, the plan aims to increase the capacity of fruit production management, as well as improving fruit products standards.

Second, the plan aims to improve the competitive capacity of fruit production and marketing by using technology and innovation.

Third, the plan aims to create strength and equality for farmers and fruit institutions in Thailand.

Fourth, the plan aims to help manage resources sustainably in the production of fruits. Also, the production should be eco-friendly, and the operation of this strategy will be collaborated with the Fruit Board.

In addition, the meeting agreed that the operational plan should be consistent with the 20-year national strategy (2018 to 2037), as well as the 20-year agricultural and cooperative strategy (2017-2036), which were the direction and framework of the plan’s drafting.

And that means that Bangkok residents will spend about an estimated Bt13.15 billion during the lunar festivities on vegetables, fruit, meats, palm oil, sauces and other commodities – 3 per cent less than they did at the same time last year.

The centre expects the price of coconuts and rice to increase as well, at the same time people’s purchasing power continues to decline.

Whichai Phochanakij, director-general of the Department of Internal Trade, noted that the drought situation is likely to become even more severe, hiking the price of most agricultural products due to reduced supply.

Rice, pork and vegetables, the production of which requires considerable amounts of water, will be particularly affected, he said.

The department and Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives are considering encouraging farmers to switch to produce that grows fast, such as limes.

The lime supply is expected to decrease but not pose a market shortage, Whichai said. Restaurants will have to buy limes in advance or frozen as the price rises.

An overall drop of 20-30 per cent is predicted for agricultural products, depending on the severity of the drought, while prices could rise by 25-30 per cent.

On Wednesday (January 15) evening, Thanongsak Lertna, a 38-year-old accused of breaking into 10 houses was nabbed after he was swimming based on evidence from surveillance cameras that had recorded all his activities.

One of the victims said that the suspect had robbed her of US$400 and two watches the first two times while on two other occasions she did not lose any valuables.

Police detained Thanongsak for drug tests and sent the CCTV evidence to the inquiry official before contacting the victims to identify the culprit in order to proceed with the prosecution.

She said that Thailand’s currency moved closer to Bt30.25 to the dollar after the market opened on Thursday morning.

The movement was connected to new factors related to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the US and China.

The MoU was about the first phase of their trade deal. There is, however, uncertainty about the next phase.

Kangana estimated that the baht on Thursday will move towards Bt30.10 to Bt30.40 to the dollar. “The important US economic numbers were the country’s retail sales in December, and the business tendency survey of January of the Fed’s branch of Philadelphia,” she added.

These provinces are: Chiang Rai, Nan, Nakhon Phanom, Maha Sarakham, Bueng Kan, Nong Khai, Buri Ram, Kalasin, Kanchanaburi, Chachoengsao, Phetchabun, Uthai Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Uttaradit, Chai Nat, Nakhon Sawan, Suphan Buri, Sukhothai, Phayao and Sakon Nakhon. Some 98 districts, 541 sub-districts, 4,600 villages are in need of assistance.

The DDPM said it has organised water trucks to distribute water to alleviate the suffering of people. It is determining water distribution points so that it can reach people in all areas. It has also requested cooperation from the public to use water conservatively.

People who are suffering from the drought can call for help via 1784, 24 hours, to receive urgent assistance.

The TAT estimates total tourist spending of at least Bt24 billion.

Regarding the World Health Organisation’s warning to the Thai government to closely monitor the situation of coronavirus 2019 that could be transmitted from human to human, TAT governor Yutthasak Supasorn said he was confident the virus would not affect travelling Chinese tourists who will visit Thailand during Chinese New Year, which starts from January 25. “Foreign tourists can rest assured when visiting Thailand that government agencies have employed the highest level of surveillance measures to deal with the coronavirus,” he said.

Yutthasak estimated that during Chinese New Year, some 1,016,000 foreign tourists will visit the Kingdom, increasing 1.5 per cent year on year. “We expect spending of Bt21.74 billion from these tourists during the festival, a 1.6 per cent increase from last year,” he added. “The extension of the visa on arrival period for Chinese tourists to June 30 could attract around 312,000 Chinese tourists to the country, where they will spend at least Bt8.4 billion.”

As for the domestic market, the TAT is planning to organise New Year’s activities in nine tourist provinces namely Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Sawan, Ratchaburi, Suphanburi, Chonburi, Udon Thani, Songkhla and Phuket.

“We hope that these activities will be attended by local tourists, estimated at around 437,000 persons per province, generating tourist income of around Bt2.26 billion to local retail shops and accommodation entrepreneurs.”

The TAT governor added that he will join the Cabinet’s economic meeting on January 31 to discuss measures to attract more foreign tourists, which might include offering free visa to Chinese and Indian tourists to make sure that the number of foreign tourists in 2020 hits the target of 40.8 million persons and generates income of Bt2.06 trillion.

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