The” Bangkok Post” chose five of the most notable names to cover the year out of the plethora of information and eye-catching articles from Bangkok in 2024.
1. Lisa’s Marketing efforts go zoonotic as capital beams
Some stories have generated as many world enthusiasm as the special efforts of Lalisa” Lisa” Manobal, the Thai K-pop actor.
On June 28, Lisa unveiled her music videos Rockstar, filmed in the lively, bustling night-time food city of Yaowarat, Bangkok’s classic Chinatown. Fans flocked to the filming place to follow in her footsteps after the discharge sparked a significant trend.
The global impact of this celebration was obvious. After the Rockstar trailer was released online, it garnered over 4.9 million views on YouTube, becoming the product’s top trending picture at the time.
However, her related Instagram and TikTok comments received over 3.3 million loves and 4.5 million views, both.
In Thailand, celebrities and stars joined the Rockstar pattern, recreating Lisa’s iconic moments in Yaowarat and turning the happening into a popular feeling.
This isn’t the first day Lisa has spotlighted Thailand’s” sweet authority” on the international stage. In her LALISA music videos, she flashed a stunning golden Thai classic clothing, sparking a global interest in traditional Thai attire.
Lisa also played a key role in promoting Thailand’s cooking lifestyle. In late 2021, she endorsed the popular” standing meatballs” at Buri Ram railway train during the Covid-19 crisis, when suppliers were struggling. Her influence resulted in an increase in online orders, with some vendors making tens of thousands of dollars per day.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt expressed his gratitude to Lisa in the midst of the Rockstar craze, saying,” I’d like to thank Lisa for choosing Yaowarat as her filming location. She has already helped us immensely.
” Moving forward, we must develop and improve on our own. Vendors must work together to provide tourists with a pleasant experience. If visitors come because of Lisa’s music video but leave unimpressed, they won’t return.”
He emphasised the importance of enhancing public facilities, including restrooms, pedestrian walkways, traffic management, and the fair treatment of tourists. Proper care for visitors, he noted, would not only boost their experience but also stimulate the local economy.
2. End of days for Lao Market
The” Lao Market,” a section of Klong Toey Market, has been a significant news item for nearly 20 years, and it has been located along Rama IV Road on footpaths for almost 20 years.
Clearing the cables: The Lao Market ( Klong Toey ), Bangkok, is reclaimed to alleviate traffic congestion. The Public Works Department began demolishing on December 7, and the Electricity Authority cut the market’s power supply on December 2. Somchai Poomlard
Back then, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( BMA ) designated the area as a zone exempt from the usual restrictions, initially hosting 96 vendors.
The Khlong Toey District Office at the time even constructed a roof over the location to make things convenient for both vendors and customers.
However, over time, vendors began leaving their goods permanently in the 300-metre-long market space on the footpath.
This caused inconvenience to residents, who had to walk on the road because the footpath was obstructed.
In addition to obstructing the footpath, drivers like tuk-tuks and delivery trucks caused severe traffic congestion in the area, which added to local complaints.
As a result, the BMA announced the end of the exempted zone on Aug 30, 2018. However, vendors appealed for leniency and requested an extension.
Around that time, the Covid-19 pandemic struck, leading the district office to grant an extension, allowing vendors to carry on at the site.
Once the Covid-19 situation improved, the district office resumed negotiations with Lao Market vendors, urging them to move to inner Klong Toey Market.
The vendors finished their relocation on December 1 after the discussions eventually came to an agreement.
The BMA’s three-day demolition of the Lao Market, which took place from December 2 through December 4, officially ended this month.
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority and the BMA have since collaborated on improvements to the general area, including installing new water pipes and installing new power lines underground.
The BMA’s long-running campaign to return footpaths to pedestrians has had mixed success at best since the removal of the market.
3. BMA hit with a sizable skytrain debt
A lower court’s ruling on July 26 required the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( BMA ) and its business unit, Krungthep Thanakom, to pay Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc ( BTS), the operator of BTS Skytrain, to pay the outstanding debts.
City transportation: One of the extended routes that Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc ( BTSC ) operates is the Bearing-Samut Prakan section of the Green Line.
The costs associated with hiring BTSC to manage the electric train service on two additional Green Line routes and provide maintenance services for the electric rail system were covered by the hiring.
Of the debts, 2.34 billion baht must be paid for the first extension, consisting of the Saphan Taksin-Bang Wa section and the On Nut-Bearing section, while 9.4 billion baht must be paid for the second extension consisting of the Mo Chit-Saphan Mai-Khu Khot section and the Bearing-Samut Prakan section.
The defendants must pay overdue debts to the plaintiff, BTSC, by around Jan 21 next year.
The Prayut Chan-o-cha government, which decided to extend the BTSC concession for another 30 years after it expired in 2029, and postpone the debts for operation and maintenance for the extensions of both lines, was responsible for the collection of the debts.
The proposal remained stalled in the cabinet until Chadchart Sittipunt assumed the governorship due to the opposition from the Transport Ministry and the rules of the Public-Private Partnerships Act.
4. Rate cut for trash sorters
To help reduce the amount of waste produced in the city, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( BMA ) will offer a discount on garbage collection fees to households that sort their waste before disposing of it.
Catch up on recycling: The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is encouraging people to separate their recycled goods from other trash to reduce waste.
City Hall has decided to amend the rule that was set at 80 baht per month, which opponents deemed too high, according to deputy governor of Bangkok Jakkapan Phiewngam.
Households that sort their own trash will now be required to pay 20 baht per month for collection fees, while those that do not separate food waste from recyclables will be charged 60 baht per month.
The amendment was approved by the BMA Council on Oct 30 and will come into effect 180 days after its announcement, he said.
To receive the lower garbage collection fee, households must register online or at their neighborhood district office. Out of over two million households in the city, only about 50, 000 sort their recyclables from wet waste before collection.
With disposal costs averaging 2, 300 baht per tonne, unsorted waste is putting a strain on the city’s finances, according to BMA.
5. Trok Pho fire a wake-up call
A fire at the Trok Pho community, an old community in Bangkok’s Samphanthawong district, in July, shocked the public when it damaged 66 houses in this century-old community in Yaowarat Soi 7.
Assessing the damage: Police from City Hall walk to the scene after a fire destroyed the Trok Pho community on July 6.
On July 6 at 8:40 p.m., the fire started. For nearly four hours, fire engines from 11 stations with more than 30 trucks battled the flames. Since the houses were made of wood, the fire spread quickly. Access was challenging because the community’s two-meter-wide alley was narrow.
More than 1 rai of damage was caused by the fire. Additionally, the fire destroyed the restaurants and food establishments that were adjacent to the two hotels. Five residents were hurt in the fire, which damaged at least 200 million baht in the process.
The century-old Trok Pho was hidden away in Yaowarat, a road known worldwide as a street food capital. Due to the abundance of so many Bodhi trees, known as ton pho in Thai, the Trok Pho community, which was formerly known as Tai Zi Eia, later changed its name to Trok Pho.
Chadchart Sittipunt, the governor of Bangkok, inspects fire hydrants in a number of old neighborhoods to ensure public safety following the fire. He also focused on fire drills.
To put in place safeguards to protect other historic areas of the city, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation joined forces with neighborhood volunteers, traffic police, and the district office.