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Workers are covering 10 large drain pipes with soil, grass and sandbags to create shelters at Dan Nuea village in tambon Phu Pha Mok in Kantharalak district of this northeastern border province.

It is part of a plan to ensure safety for villagers living near the disputed border area and the Preah Vihear temple.

Ban Dan Nuea is not the only place where the shelters are being built. The government has allocated 40 million baht to build shelters in three districts: Khun Han, Phu Sing and Kantharalak.

The areas deemed most at risk are five tambons in Kantharalak: Phu Pha Mok, Bung Malu, Sao Thongchai, Rung and Noan Samran.

The fresh money has been set aside for the project because of fears that protests by Thais against Cambodia could spark a fresh military confrontation between the two countries.

The latest rally by People's Alliance for Democracy demonstrators took place on Saturday.

Nobody knows when the next protest will be while ownership of the 4.6 square kilometre area claimed by the two countries remains unsettled.

"We can't say bunkers aren't necessary. Problems could erupt at any time," said Col Warakorn Tukammi, head of a civil affairs unit attached to the 2nd Army.

Tambon Sao Thongchai is among areas in the three districts only 2.5km from the Preah Vihear temple ruins and is considered a high risk.

Village houses were once damaged by stray shells from Cambodia, said Col Warakorn, stressing the need to protect villagers' lives.

His unit is responsible for giving advice on how to build safe shelters while the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation pays for their construction, Si Sa Ket governor Rapi Pongbuppakij said.

Construction worker Pornchai Asipong said the shelters would be erected in house gardens and the compounds of schools and temples.

He said the shelters were stronger than make-shift bunkers made by villagers and some could accommodate between 30 and 50 people.

"Safe bunkers have three sizes: small, medium and large. The large one will be built in public or community areas such as temples and schools. The small size is for houses considered to be in danger areas," the worker said.

Sai Thaethaisong, a former village head in tambon Sao Thongchai, said it was unpleasant to cram into a shelter. He and his neighbours once had to sit in water in a shelter for many nights over 30 years ago during Cambodia's internal struggles with the Khmer Rouge.

"Villagers fear fresh fighting," Mr Sai said.

"In fact, they have lived with Cambodians for so long no one cares if there is an overlapping area. They just earn their living and have never been interested in who invades whose land."

When the PAD rallied on Saturday near the disputed area to protest against Cambodians allegedly occupying the area, their attempts to enter the area were blocked by Si Sa Ket villagers and ended in a clash between the protesters, villagers and police.

"We ask the PAD not to come back here. Villagers have had enough trouble," said Banyong Tangsuk, village head of Ban Phumsarol, which has suffered shelling in the past.