PUBLISHED: 21 Mar 2024 at 03: 40
As dangerous dust continues to drown much of the land, Chiang Mai Governor Nirat Sitthithaworn’s plan to give 10, 000 baht benefits to people who report fire starters in wooded areas, leading to a faith, has received a lukewarm response from experts in the field.
” In my opinion 10, 000 baht rewards may do very little”, Rungsrit Kanjanavanit from Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Medicine told the Bangkok Post. ” This is not a new thing. Similar measures were put forth a few years ago in some places, but it did n’t seem to work.
” The woodland fire typically starts at nights away from the villages,” said the physician and lecturer.  ,
” I wonder how anyone could find the killer using credible evidence unless there were countless CCTV cameras installed in the forest, which may result in burns.”
Anti- losing activist Marisa Marchitelli, chairman of the video” SMOKE: A problems in Northern Thailand”, was even more dismissive”. It is not a novel program. It’s been going on for at least 10 years, and it’s completely crazy.  ,
” I’ve tried to do it myself”, she told the Bangkok Post. In the past, I would have needed to call a police commander to come first, and they would have to find out who started the fire before apprehending them, and by the day they arrive, they were already gone.  ,
I believe that aiming at the people who are lighting the flames is absolutely insane.
An extract from Ms Marisa’s picture” Smoke”, featuring an appointment with Dr Rungsrit, appears in the latest season of the Bangkok Post’s” Deeper Dive “vodcast”, Feeding the Smog”. Simply search for” Deeper Dive Thailand “wherever you find your , apps, or you can see the vodcast by clicking here.
