BMA targets 2 areas for vendor crackdown

Wichai said that initial surveys in the Bang Lamphu area showed that half of the 500 or so vendors in the area had set up stalls without permission, while the rest were in temporarily permitted areas. He said the BMA would manage Bang Lamphu in three phases: first, illegal stalls would be removed right away; then stalls in the temporarily permitted area would have to follow the rules strictly; then, the area reclaimed once the six-month temporary permit expires. 

The BMA governor’s chief adviser Wanlop Suwandee, who ceremoniously sent city workers off on the mission, said that apart from cleaning the footpaths, drains, beautifying the area with plants and repainting Wat Mahathat’s surrounding walls, roadside walls would also be removed completely. Those violating the regulation would face arrest and fines, he warned. 

Wanlop said previously as many as 334 amulet vendors were on both sides of Maharaj Road, narrowing the footpath so pedestrians had to walk on the road which put them at the risk of accidents or traffic congestion. Now, he said, spaces would be reserved in Rama 2 and Bang Bua Thong markets for affected vendors. 

Yesterday’s landscape-improvement operation was carried out in collaboration with several agencies, namely Phra Nakhon district, City Law Enforcement Department, the Environment Department, Department of Drainage and Sewerage, Department of Public Work, Traffic and Transportation Department and the Department of City Planning.