Thai demolition teams have been accelerating the dismantling of houses and other constructions encroaching into the Sai River in Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai, as part of the joint Thai-Myanmar effort to prevent a repeat of the devastating floods and mudslides which struck the district in September last year.
45 locations on the Thai side of the border river and 33 on the Myanmar side have been selected for dredging, followed by the building of embankments to prevent subsidence of river’s natural banks.
Phra Sam Chinvaro, the acting abbot of Ko Sai Temple, told Thai PBS reporters that he was told, by a Thai army officer, that some parts of the temple are on Myanmar territory and need to be dismantled. More than 30 nearby houses along the river will also have to be removed.
Some house owners say that they did not realise that the land was in Myanmar when they built the properties a long time ago.
It is reported that the delay in the removal of encroaching houses on the Thai side is preventing Myanmar from dredging the river, which is supposed to begin this month, before the arrival of the rainy season in late May.
Meanwhile, Thanapon Piman, head of water management research at the Stockholm Environment Institute in Asia, warns that Mae Sai district is still vulnerable to potential destructive mudslides, due to unchecked and extensive mining activities in the upstream area of Shan State of Myanmar.
Residues and chemicals from mining activities, including cyanide used in gold mining, have been flowing into the Sai River, degrading the water quality.
He said that last September’s flooding could be repeated this year.
The flooding was described as the worst for more than 30 years. The entire town was covered in mud for months after the flooding. Several governmental agencies, the military in particular, were mobilised to clean up the town.
