SAMUT PRAKAN: Three households forced to move out their homes after they collapsed two weeks ago are blaming a local roadworks contractor for their plight, saying the huge weight of the piles of crushed stone and sand had caused the land near their homes to subside.
After receiving a complaint from them, the Bangkok Post on Monday visited the site in tambon Khlong Dan of Samut Prakan’s Bang Bo district.
Parts of three wooden houses raised above the ground on short wooden pilings had crumpled and slumped to the ground. About a metre-deep section of the ground had been raised and exposed.
The householders were convinced the damage was caused by the giant piles of crushed stone and sand left next to their houses by the company contracted to repair the road surface in the area.
Houseowner Anong Yimkan, 67, said the road contractor had continued piling up the gravel and sand until the stacks were taller than her home and the ground had eventually subsided under the massive weight on Sept 20.
This cause the ground underneath her and her neighbours' homes to rise up by roughly a metre, damaging the structures and resulting in the evacuation of the residents.
The affected families had lodged a formal complaint with local authorities, but there had been no response, she said. So they decided to air their plight to the media, in the hope it would prompt some action.
They are demanding the road contractor repair their damaged houses so they can live in them again.
Thawatchai Namsamut, chief of the Bang Bo district office, said that after learning of the incident he had instructed the village head and the kamnan of tambon Khlong Dan to visit the site and inspect the damge.
As well, he had ordered the village head and the kamnan to send a formal letter to the Samut Prakan Highway District office ordering its contractor to repair the damaged houses.
