Beach vendors say, “We’ve already tired that”
City-owned backhoes
install large sandbags - each one 15 meters long, 4 meters wide and a
meter thick - at the entrance to Pattaya Beach at the intersection of
Beach and Central Roads. The 3.1 million baht project is another attempt
by city officials to prevent beach erosion during the rainy season.
Warunya Thongrod
Had anyone at city hall asked them, Pattaya beach vendors would
have told city officials that they’re recycled plan to prevent beach
erosion with giant sandbags was a waste of time.
After all, the vendors tried the same thing last year.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit
Ekasingh said the bags are necessary to protect both the sand and the
concrete walkways above it.
City-owned backhoes began arranging large sandbags at
the entrance to Pattaya Beach at the intersection of Beach and Central
Roads May 5. The 3.1 million baht in bags - each one 15 meters long, 4
meters wide and a meter thick - came across as a tacit admission by
Pattaya officials that they’ve given up trying to fix the city’s endemic
flooding problems, at least for now.
Pattaya beach chair vendors laid their own sandbags on Beach Road last
October, blocking off their sections of sand to prevent erosion. They
quickly discovered the bags didn’t work, partially because gaps left
between bags to allow tourist access let water through, and because the
bags blocked the natural route for floodwaters to return to the sea,
worsening damage on the other side.
“Solving flooding issues by laying big bags will not work since sand
will be eroded in areas without the bags,” said vendor Naphatphee
Wongsuwan. “Many tourists have asked me ‘what is Pattaya doing?’ since
it will not work. The city should lay pipes instead for water to head
directly into the sea or even dig pipes underneath the stairs or pump
water directly to Pattaya’s reservoirs.”
The new bags are being installed at five spots along Beach Road - the
Dusit Curve, Soi 6, Central Road, Central Festival Pattaya Beach and the
old pier in South Pattaya - where water erupts from drains and pours
down streets from higher ground, cutting huge gouges into the sand and
exacerbating Pattaya Beach’s already critical erosion problem.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh said the bags are necessary to protect
both the sand and the concrete walkways above it. Last year, erosion
caused up to 50 meters of concrete at Soi 2 to sink.
“Big bags are being laid according to the Pattaya Beach restoration
project to improve the landscape,” Ronakit said. “Last year, rain water
washed away the sand, forming holes. Plus, the water caused concrete to
sink.”
