Naklua residents cleaned up the Nokyang canal after heavy rains flooded it with garbage and natural debris.
Residents living near the waterway – many of whom are facing eviction orders for encroaching on the canal zone – nonetheless came out with black plastic bags and picked out the garbage and other debris that slows storm runoff from draining Aug. 24.
Many said they’ve always done their part individually, but it was the first time the community came out as a group on its own to clean the canal.
Resident Anurat Charoenpong said he has been living in the area for more than a decade, but never knew his house encroaches on public land. He hopes Pattaya compromises with locals who have lived around the canal for generations and simply doesn’t bulldoze their homes.
Napa Duangchai, 77, already agreed to leave her longtime home, but is building a new house in the area. Still, she said, she feels sad that she had to give up her home of 30 years because city hall is taking such a hard line.
