Govt to suppress encroachment on national park

BANGKOK, March 19 (TNA) - Police and army personnel along with officials of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment start a 12-day operation from Sunday to suppress encroachment on a natural park. They plan on Monday to order 52 resort owners who built resorts covering 945 rai (about 378 acres) and apparently encroached Thap Lan National Park in two provinces of Nakhon Ratchasima and Prachin Buri to demolish their buildings as soon as possible. Some of these resorts and houses were reportedly belong to influential businessmen, politicians and high-ranking civil servants. However, while government forces are continuing their effort against encroachment on national parks, there have been a total of 245 pending cases of alleged encroachers since 2011 due to delays in gathering evidence. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has urged that these cases should be sent for court trials within the next two months. (TNA)