#Thailand - BMA to ask Prayut to intervene in Khaosan spat over stalls

BANGKOK METROPOLITAN ADMINISTRATION (BMA) may ask Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to intervene in their bid to restrict footpath stalls in one of the city’s most famous streets.

Deputy Bangkok Governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul said yesterday that he plans to discuss the matter with vendors and various other relevant authorities tomorrow or on Friday.

“We may also submit our conclusion to the prime minister because Khaosan is a famous attraction,” he said.

The ban took effect on August 1. 

Located in the capital’s Phra Nakhon district, Khaosan Road’s longstanding street-fair atmosphere is hugely popular among Thais and tourists.

The BMA, however, has resolved to strictly regulate street stalls there to ensure orderliness but vendors are still calling for the ban to be lifted. 

“We are working on three models to present to the BMA. One of the models is to let stalls run in the morning hours too and in return, we will make sure street stalls are tidier,” said Chonnapha Teansawang, a long-time vendor on Khaosan Road.

BMA’s recent restriction allows stalls to operate on the road next to footpath only between 6pm and midnight. 

Chonnapha said vendors operating stalls in the morning usually had tour groups as customers. 

“We are adversely affected. When the news came out, tour-group organisers cancelled their plan to come to Khaosan Road,” she |said. 

Chonnapha has sold cell phones and bags for more than two decades. 

“I think Khaosan stalls are attractive because of the diverse rang of products in the area,” she said. 

Chonnapha said her group was now holding discussions with vendors in a bid to get a solid proposal to be submitted to the BMA for consideration. It is estimated that Khaosan Road has about 300 vendors. 

According to the deputy governor, “As of now, about 230 vendors have come forward to register with the BMA.” 

xHe said he recognised that Khaosan vendors had plied their trade for a long time and contributed to Khaosan’s reputation as an interesting tourist place. “But what they do is illegal,” he said. 

Sourse - TheNation

 

 Ps. It go look like, the hate Tourists (Foreigners)

#Thailand - Foreign media probe Tanasak about Yingluck’s passport

Deputy Prime Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn on Tuesday declined to say whether the government will revoke the passport of fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra after she fled the country days before hearing the court verdict in her negligence case.

Tanasak, in Sydney after overseeing a troupe of 56 Khon mask dancers who performed at the Sydney Opera House, was asked by foreign journalists if the government plans to revoke Yingluck's passport.

Tanasak, who oversees the Foreign Ministry, said: “The Thai government practices the rule of law. As an administration, we can not intervene in the judgment of the court.

"In your country, can you intervene in the court?

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"Thailand is the big country and the government gives freedom to citizens. We don’t follow individuals in terms of where they are going or when they leave the country. So we're following the rule of law. Just as another country."

An arrest warrant was issued for Yingluck by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions last Friday after she failed to turn up for the reading of the verdict.

Her negligence case is linked to her then government’s controversial rice-pledging scheme.

The court postponed the reading of the verdict until September 27 and ordered the seizure of Yingluck’s Bt30-million bail.

Source - TheNation

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