Bangkok’s Tao Poon station a ‘Secret Garden’ of love for Valentine’s
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Tao Poon station in Bangkok’s Bang Sue district is inviting travellers to enter its “Secret Garden” on Valentine’s Day this year.
The romantic decor is a part of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand’s “MRTA Love Station” campaign to encourage a loving vibe among city rail passengers.
Decorative features at the station include booths where travellers can take photos and share their happy moments, MRTA said.
It added that passengers who take part in the event on Valentine’s Day (Tuesday) will be eligible for free MRT Plus tickets worth 200 baht.
“We would like to invite people to participate in the activity at MRT Tao Poon Station’s Exit 3 from 1pm to 9pm,” it said.
School evacuated as blaze rages at Chonburi oily water treatment plant
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Massive fires erupted at an oily water treatment plant in Chonburi Monday, resulting in toxic black smoke that prompted the evacuation of 300 students from a nearby school.
The fires broke out at two treatment ponds at the Payon Marine Services Co Ltd plant in Tambon Bueng, Si Racha district at 10am Monday.
At press time, firefighters had managed to put out the fire at one treatment pond but were still battling the other blaze.
Black smoke from the fires could be seen high above the treatment plant and the toxic-smelling odour could be detected 2 kilometres away.
Rescuers from the local Peaw Yeang Tai Si Racha foundation helped evacuate residents and 299 students from the nearby Ban Wang Khor School.
The students gathered in the school’s main hall before being picked up by their parents.
Teacher Porntip Pongklud, 58, said she saw smoke from the fires billowing to the school. She first thought it came from bonfires but then heard the sound of explosions.
The Payon Marine Services website says the company offers a one-stop service for disposal of waste, sludge and oily water complete with transportation by barge and truck to the treatment plant.
Bangkok luxury home-office project suspended after construction collapse
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Bangkok’s Huay Kwang district office has suspended construction of a luxury home-office project after one of its buildings collapsed and injured five workers on Sunday.
The accident occurred at about 4pm during work on the Billion Club Villa project on Soi Wat Uthaitharam off Kamphaeng Phet 7 road in Bang Kapi subdistrict.
Huay Kwang office director Paitoon Ngammook suspended construction work and gave the project owner 30 days to implement safety measures.
The suspension order was pinned to the construction site’s wall by Paiboon himself on Sunday night.
Project owner JRY Real Estate (Thailand) Co Ltd began building a dozen home-office buildings on the site on July 8 last year, with completion due on July 7 this year. Each building has three connected living/office units with one floor underground and three floors above.
The project employs 130 construction workers, most of them from Myanmar.
Sunday’s accident saw the top floor of the fifth building collapse onto the lower floors.
A preliminary investigation found that the construction fully conformed with the approved blueprint, said Thirayut Phumsak, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.
He said the accident happened after cement was poured onto the roof in just one spot instead of spreading it out.
“So, the beam under the spot where the cement piled up could not bear the weight and the roof collapsed onto lower floors,” Thirayut said.
Thai govt cracks down on agents offering false hope
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
As many as 46 suspects were prosecuted this fiscal year for allegedly deceiving 112 people into working illegally overseas, the Labour Ministry said.
Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said on Monday that Department of Employment director-general Phairoj Chotikasatien has been instructed to take legal action against suspects accused of luring people into taking up illegal jobs overseas and help the victims.
“If any agent invites you to sneak into a country or work overseas on a tourist visa, you can assume that you are being deceived,” he said.
Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin
Meanwhile, Pairoj said the Department of Employment is keeping an eye out both online and offline to see if people are being invited to work overseas illegally.
The department has also provided information on how people can apply for foreign jobs legally and how they can identify criminals.
“During this fiscal year, as many as 46 people have been prosecuted over this issue,” he said, adding that 112 people had been deceived and up to 10.16 million worth of damages incurred.
He also warned that anybody caught luring people to work overseas illegally can face three to 10 years in prison and/or 60,000 to 200,000 baht in fine.
Anybody advertising jobs overseas with permission can face up to three years in prison and/or a fine of up to 60,000 baht, he added.
People interested in working overseas can visit doe.go.th/overseas or call the Department of Employment’s hotline 1506 press 2.
Satellite spots heart-shaped forest in Chiang Rai for Valentine’s
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Gistda) joined the Valentine’s Day excitement by releasing an aerial photo of a heart-shaped forest in Chiang Rai.
The photo was taken by the SPOT 6 satellite, which is 694 kilometres above the Earth and orbits in synchronicity with the Sun.
The heart-shaped dipterocarp forest is located in Chiang Rai’s Phaya Meng Rai district and is near Wat Doi Mon Pa Yang aka Wat Santitham.
Gistda spokesman Dr Siam Lawawirojwong said the forest serves as a “green heart” providing clean air for the remote Santitham village. The forest is surrounded by paddy fields and cassava plantations.
Mind that sting: Phuket tourists warned against jellyfish terror
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Tourists in Phuket have been warned to look out for poisonous jellyfish at more than 20 sites around the island.
The warning was issued on Monday after more than 30 tourists complained of being stung on Kata Beach last week. Most victims suffered mild symptoms.
Signs were put up at more than 20 attractions around Phuket, including Patong, Nai Yang and Surin beaches as well as Panwa Cape to raise awareness and provide first-aid information.
Lifeguards have also been armed with bottles of vinegar to provide immediate help to some victims.
“Those stung by fire jellyfish can pour vinegar on the sting for at least 30 seconds for immediate relief,” Phuket Marine Resources Conservation director Suchart Ratanruangsri said.
He warned that pouring fresh water or alcohol on a fire jellyfish sting will only worsen the pain.
However, those stung by a Portuguese jellyfish should clean their wound with seawater or beach morning glory, instead of vinegar or fresh water. He also said that everyone is advised to see the doctor as soon as possible.
BMA launches ‘Healthcare in the Park’ service in Lumpini Park
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration on Sunday launched its first healthcare service inside a public park by deploying a mobile healthcare unit to Lumpini Park.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt chaired the first “Health in the Park” event, which was held in the morning at the indoor-sports building and on the lawn in front of the Lumpini Youth Centre’s fitness facilities.
The Health in the Park project is part of the BMA’s Care for Public Health campaign, Chadchart said. The campaign deploys health personnel to meet Bangkok residents in their neighbourhoods instead of waiting for them to visit BMA clinics or hospitals.
The Health in the Park project aims to encourage people to take better care of health by educating them and encouraging them to exercise, eat healthy diets, and use safe healthcare products, the governor explained.
The activities in the first Health in the Park event included:
Preliminary health checks for possible ailments and subsequent treatments
Covid-19 vaccinations
Hearing capability checks
Eyesight and eye condition checks
Lungs x-rays with digital x-ray machines
Mental health checks
Providing nutrition knowledge
Providing knowledge on how to protect oneself from PM2.5 pollutants
Providing knowledge on how to perform CPR for heart-attack patients
Providing rabies vaccines for dogs and cats
Neutering dogs and cats
Selling goods well-known to Pathumwan district where the Lumpini Park is located.
The BMA is in charge of providing primary healthcare for residents of the capital, so the city administration must go out to meet people as much as possible, Chadchart said.
BMA clinics and hospitals are primary healthcare units for larger hospitals of the Public Health Ministry under the Gold Card universal healthcare programme.
“Sometimes, it’s not convenient for people to come for services at our public health centres, so we have a policy to launch mobile healthcare units to serve people in their communities,” Chadchart said.
“Today is the first day that we launch our healthcare services in a public park.”
He said the BMA used public parks as venues for mobile healthcare services because people of all ages and genders visit them.
Apart from people’s health, the mobile unit also neutered cats and dogs, the governor said, adding that he realised the capability of the mobile unit cannot fully meet demand for this service.
The BMA will deploy specialised teams to neuter pets as well as expand services for people at mobile health units, Chadchart said.
3-airport rail link amendment ‘will not benefit CP-led consortium’
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
An adviser to the Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EECO) has rejected any concern that amendment of the 276.5-billion-baht public-private rail contract to link three airports will benefit the private partner.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is currently amending the contract the government signed with a Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group-led consortium in October 2019 to link Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao airports.
Both parties have agreed the contract needs adjustment to ensure that CP’s subsidiary Asia Era One Co Ltd is properly compensated for reduced passenger volume on the Airport Rail Link during the Covid situation.
EECO’s special adviser, Kanit Sangsubhan, said SRT and EECO have been carefully considering the contract amendment to ensure the project can continue and the government retains benefit from it.
“The amendment is not aimed at benefiting the private partner, but to ensure that the project can go ahead and not affect other projects in the EEC,” he said.
Kanit, who is a former EECO secretary-general, said impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict – both of which occurred after the contract was signed – had caused the budget to rise by over 200 billion baht, prompting both parties to revise the contract to ensure the project’s bankability.
Kanit said the amendment will bring forward the schedule of payments to Asia Era One for construction work from the 7th year to the 2nd year. In return, the company will take over SRT’s job in constructing the link from Don Mueang airport to the national rail hub at Bang Sue.
The faster payment schedule will save the government 26.49 billion baht in SRT budget and interest while ensuring the project is finished in time, said Kanit.
The amendment also allows the private partner to pay SRT for the right to manage the Airport Rail Link during Covid-19 in instalments to reduce its financial burden, he added.
“This move will not cost the government anything as SRT is still entitled to the 11.73 billion baht for the Airport Rail Link rights,” said Kanit.
“Moreover, the operational loss of 200-300 million baht per year during the outbreak will still be covered by the company.”
Kanit said other parts of the contract remain intact, including the stipulation that reduces the CP-led consortium’s return on investment from 5.52% to 5% due to risks such as inflation, rising interest rate, and increasing construction cost.
Forest-fire crisis delays flights at Mae Hong Son Airport
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2023
Many areas in Muang district were covered in smoke from forest fires that was so thick on Sunday morning that several airlines rescheduled morning flights to and from Mae Hong Son Airport to the afternoon.
The Pollution Control Department reported that PM2.5 – particles of dust less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter – in Mae Hong Son’s Muang and Pai districts reached 90 micrograms per cubic metre of air (μg/m3) and 105μg/m3, respectively.
Thailand’s safety limit is 50 μg/m3. High levels of PM2.5 pose health risks, especially for people with chronic lung disease.
“Forest fires were spotted in 173 areas across the province on Saturday compared to 98 areas on Friday,” the department said.
The department said forest fires occurred around Muang district, especially in the mountain range on the western side of Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu.
“Fire-fighters have been deployed to extinguish forest fires, especially in areas near communities,” it said.
The department added that forest fires were found in 806 areas across Mae Hong Son from January 1 to February 11, with 252 occurring in Pai district alone.
Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin
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