Chiang Mai: Authorities moving in to demolish five resorts in the popular tourist area on Mon Cham Hill were confronted by villagers opposing the demolition in Mae Rim district yesterday.
The tense standoff took place as a combined force of about 400 officials from a forestry unit, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, administrative officials and crowd control police were deployed in anticipation of resistance from local villagers with the demolition work set to begin yesterday morning.
An investigation by the authorities found the five resorts in breach of the Forestry Act governing land use. Ownership of the land was also alleged to have changed hands from farmers to business proxies.
