Vendors defy order to leave
More than 200 Padung Krungkasem Canal vendors demonstrate yesterday against an order forcing them off footpaths earmarked for renovation.
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Vendors along the Padung Krungkasem Canal yesterday continued their protest against a Pom Prab district office order to vacate the area.
Their stalls have been on these footpaths in the heart of Bangkok for many years, forming part of the well-known Bo Bae Market. But Pom Prab district office chief Chanisorn Suebsang issued an order on Saturday for them to shift out by yesterday. The situation was tense yesterday with yellow-clad vendors surrounding two backhoes they believed were intended to dismantle the footpaths on which they had long operated their stalls. Amporn Atthasathien, who has led the protest since Sunday evening, demanded a meeting with Chanisorn. Police officers closely monitored the vendors' protest. "Please come and negotiate - don't just issue the order!" Amporn said, adding that Chanisorn only took office on Saturday and rushed to issue this order. Another vendor in the Bo Bae Market, Wanpen Kamrak, said more than 2,500 stalls would suffer as a result of the order. "I have run my stall here for more than 20 years," she said, adding that some stall owners hired more than 20 workers each. Wanpen was not happy with the Pom Prab district office's explanation that the areas along the Padung Krungkasem Canal needed a facelift and that flowerbeds were to be planted on the footpath. "Will it be beautiful if the improved landscape means a lot of people will lose their jobs?" she said. She said the vendors could not afford to pay Bt300,000 for a space the district office recommended as an alternative to areas by the canal. Nang Lerng Police Station's deputy superintendent Lt-Colonel Sonthaya Yairaikhao said he would invite the relevant parties for talks. In another development, more than 30 police officers were closely monitoring the situation at the Sunday Market in Bangkok's Chatuchak district. Stall owners inside a market zone have locked horns with the incumbent leaseholder, Thanasarnsombat Pattana Company, which has had a legitimate right to the zone since March. The stall owners have no rental agreement with Thanasarnsombat Pattana. They formerly paid rent to the previous leaseholder, which went bankrupt many years ago, and then to State Railway of Thailand (SRT). However, the SRT has already granted the lease to the Thanasarnsombat Pattana. The stall owners erected a stage near the Sunday Market and publicly condemned the company.
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