Villager's VDO Shows Factory Operating Without Permit
EARTH REPORT 16 October 2021
Citizen of Klangdong subdistrict, Thailand, caught a factory conducting activities, while without permit.
A video clip sent by a citizen of Klangdong subdistrict, Pak Chong district, Nakhon Ratchsima Province, Thailand, captured moments when a factory owned by Aek Uthai company conducted activities without permits. The clip showed mysterious smoke coming out of the factory compound. Municipal authority is investigating the matter.
Pisit Seubsiri, a citizen of Klangdong, informed NGO Ecological Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH) of suspicious activities in a factory owned by Aek Uthai company, which recently had its permit discontinued for causing air pollution and not holding papers to prove their land rights.
He explained that in the afternoon of the 16 October, he had heard sounds of backhoe cars coming in and out of the factory. At around 2 pm, he decided to climb up the cement pipes next to the factory where he can observe Aek Uthai’s factory compound. Using his phone, he recorded a video of Aek Uthai’s activities.
The video clip shows activities within the factory compound. Backhoe cars were heard moving in and out of the factory compound. There were sounds of operations. Mysterious smoke was emitted from the compound.
“I’ve heard them conducting some activities for many days now. Backhoe cars were moving in and out. But I don’t know if they’re operating machineries. That’s for the municipal authorities or other officers to check. But from what I know, they don’t have a permit anymore right? The municipal authority did not renew it.”
After the incident, the municipal authority told EARTH that they will follow up on the issue immediately. An investigation will be conducted to determine if the factory had operated machineries. If the factory did so, it would have broken the law.
Aek Uthai company had been operating this factory since 2016. Since then, the factory had been the subject of complaints by locals who were disturbed by foul smell and dusts from the factory compound. In addition, there had been two fires in the factory in the last year. The most recent one occurred on 4 September 2021.
In addition, earlier in 2021, it was discovered that the factory had intruded a forest nearby, without permission. The Royal Forestry Department had since sued the company for that violation. Subsequently, large amount of industrial wastes were found buried in the area in the forest area. The dumping had been done without following any academic standards. Furthermore, the Pollution Control Department found that local wells had been contaminated.
These discoveries led to the municipal authority’s decision not to renew Aek Uthai’s license on 29 June 2021. The company appealed. But the board of appeal decided on 7 October 2021 to uphold the municipal authority’s order. Aek Uthai is, as of this writing, without permit.
View the VDO Clip at https://www.facebook.com/EarthEcoAlert/videos/570855934152472
