Silom Road runs along the south side of the Patpong nightlife zone. Mr Suwandee noted that while stalls will be banned from the main thoroughfare, vendors will still be able to set up shop on the narrow lanes running through Patpong.
He continued by saying eviction of Silom vendors was all part of the BMA’s master plan to return footpaths to pedestrians. He explained that the BMA had received the usual complaints about Silom’s market and these were traffic jams, pedestrians forced out onto the road and food waste dumped on the street and in drains.
Mr Suwandee added that stallholders seemed to consider they had the right to park their cars and trucks on the street right next to their stalls. Regarding vendors who sold food, he said that they simply did not ensure any waste was disposed of properly.
As a codicil, Mr Suwandee claimed that illegal items such as copy designer clothes and pornographic movies were sold on Silom Road. Silom Road is the latest market to be targeted by the BMA. Vendors at markets such as Pratunam and Saphan Lek have already been, or are in the process of being, evicted.
Bangkok Silom Road Night Market stallholders get marching orders
News in Asia
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has issued eviction orders to stallholders at the city’s Silom Road Night Market. BMA spokesperson Vallop Suwandee told reporters in the Thai capital yesterday that the 600 vendors who sold their wares on Silom Road had to move by the end of May.