CityNews – The campaigners against the ‘scar of Doi Suthep’ held a meeting today, to address the issue of officers living in the judicial housing, despite a government order that nobody should live there.
On June 15th, a meeting was held to review the progress and issues of the forest restoration plan on the judicial residences area from the survey that was carried out three days earlier.
On survey day, 12th June, judicial officer issued a statement declaring that only officials, academics and seven named citizens were allowed access to the area. This decision angered many people involved in the campaign who were not allowed to visit. On that day, officials said that construction will not be finishing by June 18th and will not be able to transfer the ownership of the housing to the treasury department as planned.
However, just days later, a group of citizens noticed the lights on in the judicial housing, and clear evidence that people were living in the accommodation despite an order from the Prime Minister’s Office that nobody is allowed to live in any of the buildings.
A team gathered to evaluate how many rooms were being occupied, claiming that there are nine buildings occupied, with 30 apartment rooms showing signs of being lived in.
In response, the judicial officers issued a statement admitting that people were living in the residences, and that they had ‘no plans on moving out.’ They also implied they wanted to extend the construction contract and hold off from transferring ownership to the Treasury Department.
The campaign against the scar of Doi Suthep have decided to up their protests, saying that between June 19th and June 29th, they will be campaigning and canvassing every district in Chiang Mai, spreading awareness of the issue and inviting people to a gathering they plan to hold on June 30th.