Pattaya marked the fourth Local Administration Day by honoring HM King Rama V, who began the move toward government decentralization, with religious ceremonies, music and dance.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome led the March 18 event at city hall, offering incense and flowers to honor the late king and introducing students from Pattaya School No. 9 in traditional attire who put on a classical Thai dance show.
Students from Pattaya School No. 9 in traditional attire put on a classical Thai dance show to pay respect to HM King Rama V.
The event also featured sales of government uniforms and Thai silk, while foot massage was offered in Thappraya Hall.
Local Administration Day was launched by the Thai Cabinet in 2010 to mark the date when Rama V created the rural sanitary district, Tha Chalom, in 1906. That district later developed into the city of Samut Sakhon. It was also the first step toward local government administration, although true local rule would not take hold until the government moved to decentralize its Bangkok operations in the 1990s.
Pattaya also sprung from the Naklua Sanitation District, which was founded in 1958.
