Northern Thai residents march for action on polluted rivers. 'This is an emergency'

A six-day ‘peace walk’ to demand Thai officials take action regarding river pollution that has seen Thai rivers polluted with heavy metals concluded on World Environment Day.Health authorities in Thailand have found arsenic in two people living near the Kok River. Heavy metals have also been found in the water and fish of Kok and other rivers.A spokesperson for the Thai Prime Minister’s Office said the government established a working group to monitor the contamination problem in the Kok River and has been continuously coordinating with other countries.China, which imports rare earth oxides and compounds from Myanmar, also addressed the pollution of rivers in an online statement: “The Chinese government has always placed utmost importance on protecting the environment and ecosystem.”

BANGKOK — More than 600 residents of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces embarked May 31 on a roughly 68-kilometer, six-day ‘peace walk’ to demand the Thai government take action on the river pollution crisis that has seen Thai rivers polluted with heavy metals. The ensemble of affected residents, civil society groups, monks and students marched from Tha Ton subdistrict in Chiang Mai to the city of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, reaching their destination on June 5, World Environment Day.