Bangkok, Feb. 1 (TNS): To protect the environment and prevent diseases, Thailand government has banned smoking and littering at 24 beachside locations and tourist resorts.
Thai ministry of natural resources and environment announce the development here on Thursday.
Environmental rights groups have urged successive governments to protect Thailand’s palm-fringed beaches, which are frequently voted among the world’s most beautiful, from unregulated development and littering, among other things.
A law that came into force on Thursday is aimed at tackling this problem, said Bannaruk Sermthong, a director at the Office of Marine and Coastal Resources Management.
Anyone who wants to smoke must do so in designated smoking areas, not on the beaches.” The law protects 24 beaches in 15 provinces located along the Andaman coast and the Gulf of Thailand.
Anyone who violates the law will be taken to a criminal court and could face up to one year in jail, or a fine of up to 100,000 baht ($3,190), or both.
