Officials from the Chon Buri Provincial Industrial Works Office collected water samples for tests today (Friday), from a ditch along the 331 Highway in Ko Chan, after they received complaints from villagers of illegal dumping of industrial waste in the ditch.

A CCTV system, installed in front of a steel dealer’s store in Tha Boonmee sub-district, captured images of a truck in the act of discharging industrial waste into the ditch at about 4.30am Thursday.

Chalerm Kamthong, a fish pond owner, told the media today that he saw the truck parked near the ditch for quite some time on Thursday morning and became suspicious.

He said he decided to approach and saw the driver about to discharge something into the ditch and asked him what he was doing. The driver did not respond, but quickly left the scene.

Chalerm also said that he is raising about 150,000 fish in his pond and is afraid that, if the industrial waste in the ditch leaks into his pond, his fish might die.

He added that he has been watching out for illegal dumping of industrial waste into water ways in the village and, onThursday, he came across a culprit.

Sunthorn Paengpairee, leader of the Ko Chan people’s network, said that he has received complaints from villagers in the sub-district about such illegal activities, which have been going on for about three months.

He said that, if the water in the ditch is contaminated it flows into the Tha Boonmee and Luang canals, which will turn black, emit a foul smell and all the fish will die.

About 4,000 households in the district, who rely on water from the two canals, will be affected, he added.

Industrial works officials said it will take them about a month to trace the factories which were involved in illegal dumping.

A request was also lodged with Ko Chan police to trace the truck caught discharging waste into the ditch.