The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has extended a deadline to relocate vendors and reclaim footpaths along Silom Road until early August.

A source at City Hall said the deadline was pushed back from June 1 to Aug 1 to allow street vendors to prepare for the relocation.

The extension came after vendors lodged a petition with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last week, calling on him to suspend a ban on their activities.

BMA deputy city clerk Chakkaphan Peawngam yesterday said efforts to regulate vendors on Silom Road began in 2014 with some 611 vendors operating in the area.

He added all of the vendors were outside areas where trade was temporarily allowed.

In 2014, negotiations between City Hall and vendors led to stalls being allowed to open daily from 7pm to 2am the next morning.

However, City Hall continued to receive complaints about vendors occupying footpaths and public areas, littering and selling pirated goods in the Silom area which led to the clean-up campaign.

The source said the BMA had provided two areas for the relocation of vendors.

The first was on Patpong Road and could serve some 90 stalls.

The second location was on Soi Ratchaprarop 23 and could accommodate about 1,000 stalls. The vendors were required to pay electric and water bills.

However, the vendors continue to refuse to move as they believe the new areas will be less profitable than their locations on Silom Road.

Aside from addressing the vendors' petition to the premier, City Hall also believes efforts to reclaim footpaths in the Silom area can be conducted simultaneously with similar efforts in the Pratunam area on Aug 1, the source added.

Meanwhile, Pairat Panlai, a representative of the Silom Road vendors, insisted vendors in the area will continue to sell their goods on Silom Road after July 31.

However, stalls could be set up from 9pm to 2am so their trade will affect pedestrians and traffic as little as possible.

Source:
courtesy of BANGKOK POST

by Supoj Wancharoen

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