In Thailand’s northeast province of Buriram, inhabitants of Ban Dan district are left in confusion as they’re being billed for water usage dating again six to nine years. Appearing throughout each village, these payments have sparked controversy, with municipality staff explaining that the cost have to be collected.
The complaints escalated as residents inside the Ban Dan area, in some circumstances two to 4 from every village, and at worst 29 people, are being charged retrospectively. The quantity levied varies considerably, from 4,000 to 15,000 baht (US$118 to US$440) for water consumption courting back to 2014.
Seventy-year-old Chomchuey Jayunram, a noodle vendor, expressed her bewilderment receiving a water bill summing over 10,000 baht (US$294), relationship again to 2014. Her month-to-month water usage ranges between 50 and 150 baht (US$1.5 to US$4), and regardless of lacking funds on some months, Chomchuey questioned the sudden accumulation. A bill collector visits regularly, generally offering receipts for payments made. However, why Reduced wasn’t discontinued if the payments had remained unpaid remains unclear, reported KhaoSod.
Sharing a similar sentiment, residents 73 yr previous Yut Kongram and 62 year previous Daragorn Changagram discovered themselves in similarly perplexing situations. They have been presented with retrospective bills amounting to greater than 10,000 baht and three,000 baht respectively, despite making regular funds. These claims raised questions in regards to the local billing system, as a decision is deemed essential to alleviate the residents’ predicaments.
In defence, Ban Dan’s mayor, Veerawat Sathitpoonphan, said that after assuming his position in late 2021, he found an enormous quantity of excellent water payments..