Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong, Egat governor Viboon Rerksirathai and Lampang Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn attended the opening.

The event from November 22 to 24 is being organised by Egat, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Lampang.

“Egat’s Mae Moh coal mine was accused by the people of Lampang as a destroyer of nature and an environment polluter,” the minister said. “The idea of this event was developed to prove that Egat and the mine can coexist peacefully with the local community and also help improve the economy and nature in the province.”

“Mae Moh Festival 2019 expects 300,000 participants, much higher than last year’s

240,000, and circulate more than Bt200 million cash circulation in Lampang,” said the Egat governor. “Moreover, in the mine area where Egat has installed PM2.5 metres, it has been found that pollution is lower than in the city of Lampang.”

The festival this year has been organised under the concept “Greenovation in the Park”, reflecting Egat’s determination to bring new technology and innovation to generate electricity in Thailand, as well its earnestness to redevelop an area around the Mae Moh mine as a natural tourist attraction.

The highlight of the Mae Moh Festival is the flea market of local products, activities, and performances by famous artists, including Body Slam, Lula, and Lomosonic. Besides, in an area of the Egat office in Mae Moh, there are vast fields of Mexican sunflowers and shaded park named “Chaloem Phra Kiat” to attract tourists.

Tourism entrepreneurs in Phuket had been concerned about rumours that Phuket will not be chosen to hold the event after an announcement on the TTM+2020 website,which previously stated that the event would be held in Phuket, disappeared from the website.

“Phuket is still listed as one of the venues to hold TTM+2020 without any changes,” Kanokkittika Kritwutikon, director of TAT, Phuket Office, said on Tuesday (November 19).

“The event is scheduled to take place from June 1 to 3 next year, and is tentatively expected to take place in Karon district.”

The TAT’s Phuket Office director expects that at least 400 buyers worldwide will attend this event to negotiate on business with Thai tourism entrepreneurs nationwide, while TAT overseas offices will invite travel agencies and the media to attend the event.

“This event will help in stimulating the country’s tourism, upgrading Thai tourism to international standards, presenting new tourist attractions and tourism services, as well as negotiating with buyers worldwide,” she said.

In recent years, the TTM+ event has been held in Chiang Mai in 2016 and 2017 before moving to Pattaya, Chonburi province, in 2018 and 2019.

On Saturday (November 23), Paktrae subdistrict villagers told local news reporters that they had found a large green sea turtle, which weighs 10 kilograms and is around 5 years old. They said the turtle was extremely exhausted and had several injuries.

The villagers said that it might have been washed ashore several hours ago due to strong sea waves and possibly could not get back to the sea on its own.

The villagers reported that they had tried carrying the turtle back to the sea several times but it kept struggling to move back to the shore. “It refuses to go back to the sea, probably because it is too sick or injured to swim,” one the villagers speculated.

The villagers, therefore, put the turtle in a plastic bucket and contacted the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources to take custody.

Green sea turtles are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and are usually found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, including the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea.

On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court ruled seven to two that Thanathorn must lose his status as a Member of Parliament under section 101 (6) in conjunction with article 98 (3) of having registered to run in the March election on February 6 while still holding shares in V-Luck Media.

Srisuwan also requested the ECT to bring a lawsuit to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on charges under Section 151 of Organic Act on the Election of Members of the House of Representatives, B.E. 2561 (2018) as soon as possible.

According to the MP election law, anyone found guilty of intentionally applying to contest an election despite being disqualified risks up to 10 years in jail, a fine of up to Bt200,000 and the revocation of electoral rights for 20 years.

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Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit in his capacity of president of Hazardous Substance Committee said on Friday (November 22) that the committee will hold another meeting on November 27 to consider alternatives to the 3 banned substances for use in agriculture.

During an interview with the “Inside Thailand” TV programme, Suriya said that the Department of Agriculture has recently submitted its report on the effects the ban will have as well as the results of public hearing on the topic to the Hazardous Substance Committee. “The public hearing revealed that 75 per cent of 48,789 samples are against the ban, while only 25 per cent agree with the ban,” he said. “Moreover, the DOA reported that they are still unable to find suitable substitutes for the 3 chemicals, which prompted the committee to hold another meeting next week.”

“I cannot say with certainty if the banning will be immediately effective on December 1, as the committee will consider effects and consequences from all sides again in the next meeting,” added Suriya. “If the meeting agrees that we are not ready to ban the substances, then we will postpone it. However, if the meeting upholds its previous decision, aid measures will be issued to help those affected by the ban.”

Meanwhile, Agriculture Permanent Secretary Anant Suwanrat said that after extensive study, the Department of Agriculture is proposing that the banning of 3 substances should be postponed at least 6 months. “This is to allow time for farmers and manufacturers who still have those chemicals in their stocks, which is estimated at more than 38,000 tonnes nationwide,” he said.

Related Story: Rules for handling hazardous substances posted in Government Gazette