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Disgusting smell from next door... what can I do?


jak2002003

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My house backs on to a huge area of rice fields.  This year the old farmer closest to our house decided to give up the rice and start farming buffalo.

 

Problem is he has made the buffalo mud bath / wallow right outside our bedroom window, despite the fact he has about 20 or more rai of land.

 

Now the smell is disgusting... if I open the bedroom windows (like I used to do at night) the stench is overpowering and makes me nearly vomit.  The last few weeks have gotten worse as the water level has dropped as the other rice farmers get ready to harvest the rice. 

 

The smell drifts constantly across our garden and pool and we are unable to relax outside as the breeze wafts over the smell of buffalo shit and piss, and stagnant muddy water.

 

When anyone comes to the house they comment of the smell.... it's very annoying.

 

Do I have any right to complain about this?  It would be fine if he moved the wallow over to the other corner of his land.  I don't want to upset him.. he is old and it is his land.... But I have to do something, because the number of buffalo are gradually increasing along with the smell, flies and mosquitoes.

 

Thanks for any advise. 

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Go see the "Phu Yai Bahn" , I suggest you get your wife (or atleast a Thai person if you dont have one) to do it. Best leave Thai people to handle Thai people.


Yeah was going to say the same. They usually clear the issue way faster

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34 minutes ago, tonray said:

You can ask him but it's best to frame it politely and also offer pay any expenses of doing so with a bit extra thrown in...a few thousand baht goes a long way in getting cooperation.

exactly what I thought before reading anyone comment ......

 

Get the wife to chat with him .... explain your grievance softly ,  and mention that you will donate 3,000 baht to help with the relocation costs.  If he accepts ... great .... if he doesn't ....  move

Edited by steven100
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50 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Go see the "Phu Yai Bahn" , I suggest you get your wife (or atleast a Thai person if you dont have one) to do it. Best leave Thai people to handle Thai people.

 

I strongly recommend the above advice. In a previous rental home, I had 10 rai of nice rice paddy directly over the road from me. One day out of the blue, a charcoal lady set up a kiln in the paddy just 30m over the road.

 

Phwrrrrr .... the smoke blew straight into my place day after day. It was horrible. My wife, and several neighbours, talked quietly to the old lady about the smoke.

 

Waste of time. As we watched her build kiln number 3, my wife jumped on the scooter and went to the PooYaiBaan.

 

Next day, the charcoal lady dismantled all 3 kilns, and moved 250m away up into the far corner of the paddies. Perfect.

 

So ..... in this situation, talking with the PooYaiBaan definately was the right move.

 

 

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Thank you all for the replies.  I will go with my Thai friend to the Poo Yai Baan and ask if he can do anything.

 

Decided not to even ask the farmer... he was a bit nasty with us when we first moved here 3 years ago.. but since then he is more friendly.  I don't think he can speak Thai very well... he must be over 70 and just speaks the Chiang Mai language, so its hard for me to understand him.

 

Also, the poster who was concerned with some other farang on the other side of the fields... don't worry.  There are hundreds or thousands of Rai of the fields.. and only orchards and farms around the edge... it's very rural where I live... that is why I was annoyed he put the stinking mud wallow smack up to the wall next to our bedroom.

 

I'll let you know what happens.. if anything..

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15 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Thank you all for the replies.  I will go with my Thai friend to the Poo Yai Baan and ask if he can do anything.

 

Decided not to even ask the farmer... he was a bit nasty with us when we first moved here 3 years ago.. but since then he is more friendly.  I don't think he can speak Thai very well... he must be over 70 and just speaks the Chiang Mai language, so its hard for me to understand him.

 

Also, the poster who was concerned with some other farang on the other side of the fields... don't worry.  There are hundreds or thousands of Rai of the fields.. and only orchards and farms around the edge... it's very rural where I live... that is why I was annoyed he put the stinking mud wallow smack up to the wall next to our bedroom.

 

I'll let you know what happens.. if anything..

Ask him if he wants to sell a couple of rai that boarders your house. Even if it is sor por kor it'd be worth the investment.

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35 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

he was a bit nasty with us when we first moved here 3 years ago.

More than lightly still don't like a pesky farangie. 

 

36 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

why I was annoyed he put the stinking mud wallow smack up to the wall next to our bedroom.

He did on purpose,  l know what l would do but can't say.

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45 minutes ago, Pacificperson said:

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Three years is a good cooling off period. What did you do to upset him?

He was initially worried that us getting this land would mean he could not get access to his rice fields.. although he has 2 ways into them already.  He still has a very wide access way down the side of our land, where he has built his hut and we did not take any of his access away.   

 

Maybe something happened about the land in the past... maybe he wanted it or used it, have no idea.  He was always walking through it.. and when we drained the pit (pond) to fill it in he was there taking away all the fish (all small grey thing)... maybe he put them in there... who knows?  We also have lots of big fruit trees... maybe he got money from selling them... as no one looked after the land... it was really overgrown when we got it. 

 

Actually now I think about it he is very annoying lol.  He blocked up our drain pipes twice with straw so our septic tanks flooded... and used to collect every single small bit of concrete, stone, leaves and sticks from his field and line them up along our back wall. 

 

But I doubt he did the buffalo wallow on purpose.... actually he seems to have put them in the way of the rice harvesting machines.. which had to go the long way around this year.  He just seems generally awkward to everyone.. even our Thai village neighbours have nothing to do with him.  He is very old now.. so maybe not too many years left to worry about the situation. 

 

 

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He is very old now.. so maybe not too many years left to worry about the situation. 

 

Yes just live with it till either you die from the smell or he just pops his clogs

 

Amazing Thailand never fails to amaze me 

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Many heads of villages couldn't give two shits about the problem, more about their drink. You can try the head village, but the guy is under absolutely no legal obligation to listen to what the head village tells him...that's if the head village can be bothered telling him.

Depending on how many Buffalo there are, their are laws that can be in-acted. If the number of Buffalo is increasing and it is within certain distances of your home, then it will become an animal 'nuisance' law. Go and get your wife to speak to the Public Health Director at your Tessaban. Basically if they agree with you that it is a nuisance they will have to move the animals, and clear the mud or get fined each day until they do move them.

 

And before everyone jumps on this and craps on 'but this is Thailand' lol....Thai has the same municipality responsibilities as back home. How do you think Thai's deal with issues like this or pig farms, rice making machines etc, they complain to the Tessaban, the Tessaban come and tell the people what they can and cant do. 

 

Edited by wildewillie89
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18 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Go see the "Phu Yai Bahn" , I suggest you get your wife (or atleast a Thai person if you dont have one) to do it. Best leave Thai people to handle Thai people.

Agree with you on that one! Most Moo Baans have laws against keeping livestock (pigs cattle etc. ) within certain limits - The law is very rarely followed in general as it seems no one really complains, however, there is regulations out there so stick with it!

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17 hours ago, steven100 said:

exactly what I thought before reading anyone comment ......

 

Get the wife to chat with him .... explain your grievance softly ,  and mention that you will donate 3,000 baht to help with the relocation costs.  If he accepts ... great .... if he doesn't ....  move

Pay money or move. Easy talk, Mr Money Bags. After payment, who`s to say that the farmer will honour the agreement or not do the same again in the near future?

 

First try reasoning with the farmer and if that doen`t work, best to have some words with the head man of the village

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12 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

Pay money or move. Easy talk, Mr Money Bags. After payment, who`s to say that the farmer will honour the agreement or not do the same again in the near future?

 

First try reasoning with the farmer and if that doen`t work, best to have some words with the head man of the village

I hear ya.  I think for $200 to get the problem solved if possible is pretty darn cheap ...  what makes you think the farmer won't keep his end of the deal ? ... not everyone is dishonest and skeptical throughout their entire lives. 

Who was there first ?  the farmer with all his buffalo's   ?

who has most at stake ?   the farmer ?  he makes a living of his land ...   If he can get it moved for free then good ....  but in Thailand $$ speaks their language.

Edited by steven100
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1 hour ago, Formaleins said:

Agree with you on that one! Most Moo Baans have laws against keeping livestock (pigs cattle etc. ) within certain limits - The law is very rarely followed in general as it seems no one really complains, however, there is regulations out there so stick with it!

Heads of Villages do not have any legal powers or law enforcement powers, they usually pass it on to Tessaban if their words do not work (which is incredibly often) as the person can easily/legally ignore the  head of village.. It is not advisable as when scenarios occur such as banks coming to villages to offer promotions with quotas the head village obviously will not choose you...but they have no legal power to actually enforce something.

That is why generally more people complain to Tessaban (bypass a step to save time), and not the head of village regarding 'nuisance' cases. As Thai people know he has no legal power, but Tessaban does. He/she is a government person of course (under the District Office), however, their power doesn't extend to enforcement of nuisance related laws (that I know of). 

Edited by wildewillie89
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