BANGKOK, 16 April 2014 – The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has deployed 250 officials to clean up Silom Road which was used as one of Bangkok’s venues for the Songkran water play.
In the wake of this year’s Songkran water festivities on Silom Road, Deputy Bangkok Governor Pusadee Tamthai has led BMA executives and related officials from the Bang Rak, Yannawa, Sathon and Pathumwan District Offices as well as the Department of Environment, numbering 250 individuals in total, to clean up the area and return the road surface to its normal condition.
The cleanup operation was conducted from Sala Daeng intersection to Naralom intersection, equivalent to a distance of about 500 meters. Water trucks and garbage trucks were employed to clean out litter and debris. According to the BMA, the three-day Thai New Year celebrations on Silom this year left behind a total of 355 tons of garbage, increasing 70 tons from last year.
Ms Pusadee stated that operators of entertainment venues had been cooperative with the BMA this year in not selling alcoholic beverages to party-goers during the Songkran period, helping reduce the emergence of crime and violence. However, she admitted that the ban against street vendors on footpaths was not as effective as it should have been due to shoppers’ high demand.
