MP Dachai fiercely criticized Minister Suriya for being preoccupied with feng shui in his office, neglecting the lives of Northern people. Toxic dust blankets the North without attention, leaving villagers to endure suffering like hell on earth.
On 1 April 2026 GMT+7, during a House of Representatives session, Lampang MP Dachai Ekpatphee of the Kla Tham party rose to urgently debate solutions to the PM2.5 dust and forest fire problems in the North. He described the situation in Lampang province as critical, ongoing for more than 10 days, severely affecting public health.
Dachai, visibly upset, said he was directly affected, suffering nosebleeds from pollution. He revealed that Lampang’s 2025 budget allocation of 139 million baht seemed inadequate for firefighting. Construction expenses amounted to 80 million baht for buildings, water systems, and helicopter pads, while volunteer support was only 14 million baht and firebreak budgets just 4 million baht.
“Today, volunteers don’t even have drinking water and must rely on daily donations. Firefighting equipment is insufficient, and dust masks are in short supply, even though they risk their lives to fight fires,” Dachai said. He sharply questioned Suriya Juangroongruangkit, the new Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, asking if he had finished arranging feng shui in his office. If so, as overseer of the Royal Rainmaking Department, he should pay attention to the farmers and people of the North. As an administrator, proactive measures are needed; rainmaking should be used to alleviate forest fires and smog, rather than letting fires spread for ten days.
Dachai further disclosed that while traveling from Ngao District to Lampang city, he observed more than 20 illegal forest fire points along a 100-kilometer route, reflecting ineffective control. He urged the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to reconsider budget allocations.
“Currently, Lampang, Chiang Mai, Phayao, Phrae, and Nan provinces all suffer like hell on earth. It is time for the government to take this seriously and stop allowing citizens to repeatedly breathe toxic air in such crises,” Dachai concluded.