Civic group seeks government's actions against harmful incidents at industrial sites

BANGKOK, May 10 (TNA) - An eastern civic network is seeking active actions by the Thai government and relevant agencies against harmful incidents at local industrial sites and plans to file a lawsuit against concerned parties for last weekend's explosions and fires, as well as chemical leak at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong province, killing about a dozen of people and injuring more than 100 others. Suthi Atchasai, Coordinator of the Eastern People's Network, insisted on Wednesday that his group will call for the concerned parties to take responsibility for last week's incidents and to prevent any repetition and the government to conduct an investigation into the causes of the incidents and to publicly report its findings with transparency. Suthi said that his group will also push for the enforcement of the National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Plan B.E. 2553-2557, under which measures for preventions, management, warnings, compensation and rehabilitation concerning the general environment, natural resources and public health in case of any industrial incident are clearly indicated. Suthi acknowledged that his group will also seek the government's review on investment directions or policies for the local industrial sector and decision on allowing only green and clean projects to invest in Thailand and on publicizing a list of hazardous chemical substances allowed to be stored at industrial sites with effective measures to cope with incidents. Suthi also told reporters that on May 12 his group will submit a complaint letter to the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) chief and will file a case against the IEAT with local police and on May 15 his network will hand out a demand letter to the government, relevant parliamentary panels and independent bodies in Bangkok to seek their thorough probes on last weekend's incidents and on May 25 his network will file a lawsuit against the IEAT and other concerned parties with the Administrative Court. (TNA)