[Alkanyadela]

EDITORIAL

No need for a war next door

Lifestyle publications are full of advertisements depicting dream condos for sale in secluded leafy glades where nature, scenery and privacy exist in harmony with rapid transit stations, shopping malls and fast internet access. Convenient expressway links whisk the new residents to business districts, airport or beach resorts.

The developers are not selling an illusion. Such places do exist and their numbers are growing, although project planners could be in danger of saturating a market which is more in need of low-cost housing.

Unfortunately, these giant structures often come at a cost above and beyond the regular cash deposit or mortgage payment. This secondary price tag reflects the cost of the breakdown in community relations.

Not all projects make an effort to be good neighbours and this can lead to a David and Goliath face-off in which Goliath, not David, usually triumphs. But not before a great deal of anguish, recriminations and heightened stress levels have been needlessly incurred.

The most publicised case recently has been that of National Artist Chakrabhand Posayakrit, whose traditional Thai house on Soi Ekamai is under threat from a giant 32-storey condominium project next door and who has now, in an act of quiet desperation, petitioned the Royal Palace for help. The law, Mr Chakrabhand has found, is not in his favour. And certainly, in his case, it would take more than the token basket of fruit and letter from the site engineer apologising for inconvenience, an act of courtesy which itself is dying out.

The house in which the National Artist has lived for 40 years with its unique and priceless collection of paintings, costumes for khon mask dance performances and puppets is steeped in history and culture and would be most unlikely to survive three years of heavy pounding, dust, debris and noise during the frenzy of high-rise condo construction.

Mr Chakrabhand's fears are well-founded. What happens all too often in the rush to build new condos is a disregard by many contractors for the environmental impact the construction will have on the immediate neighbourhood. Narrow sois barely able to handle two-way traffic are blocked by huge concrete mixers.

Quality of life plummets as drainage is disrupted, internet and other access slows to a crawl and power supplies become overloaded and unstable. The constant noise, dust, falling debris and vibration caused by heavy piling can crack ceilings, walls and foundations. Technology exists to minimise noise and vibration damage but is rarely used because of cost. This must change.

The selfishness and lack of foresight demonstrated by some developers and contractors are a sad reflection of the power of big money, lax, outdated and loophole-ridden official controls and the callous live-and-let-die attitude increasingly prevalent in urban society.

Some of those with vivid memories of the suddenness with which the building boom went bust in 1997 are nervously watching runaway government spending and worrying about its potential to nurture a new bubble.

Others, surveying their shattered neighbourhoods, just wish the building developers would go away and leave them in peace. They would also like to see legislators and BMA regulators showing more interest in consumer protection than in rubber-stamping building permits.

The lack of consideration exhibited by the worst of these contractors is an insult to civilised society and they need to be reined in. The city's electorate is waiting to hear how candidates for Bangkok governor in the Oct 5 election propose to achieve this. They may have lost their patience and tolerance, but not their vote.

Bangkok Post