Retailers along a stretch of Naklua Road have been told to clear sidewalks and parking space outside their shops after complaints of encroachment on public property.
Municipal authorities backed up by soldiers hit Naklua Road near the Lumpini condominium project office April 7. They found businesses placing chairs, posts and other objects in the street to prohibit parking as well as taking over sidewalks.
Police and military have come along to try and clear the sidewalks from greedy vendors who seem to think the public walkways belong to them to expand their shops.
Some vendors had expanded their signage and were showcasing their products, making it impossible to walk on the sidewalk.
Officials spoke to business owners, telling them their actions were not only selfish, but illegal, and asked for cooperation in returning the streets and sidewalks to the public.
Retailers, however, fought back, forcing the military to step in. Soldiers told them to obey the law and clear the public property before April 20. They promised to return for another inspection.
No arrests were made now, but vendors who don’t comply by the end of Songkran will face being detained.
