The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) on Monday gave about 100 street vendors another 14 days to continue selling their wares in front of Central Lat Phrao and The One malls, after which they must remove their stalls so pedestrians can use the footpaths unimpeded.
In response to complaints about the stalls blocking pavements and even intruding onto the roadway, the State Railway of Thailand, which owns the land, authorised the BMA to regulate the area.
Bangkok Deputy Governor Sakolthee Pattiyakul said the vendors have two weeks to wrap up their business before a ban on footpath stalls is enforced.
Failure to heed the ban could result in a fine of Bt2,000 per day under the Maintenance of the Cleanliness and Orderliness of the Country Act 2535 (1992).
and Chatuchak District Office insist their officials are not involved in any graft.
Sakolthee pointed out that the city has nothing to gain by stepping in, other than restoring orderliness.
He said if this area can be successfully regulated, the pavements in front of five or six other malls would also be cleared of hawkers.
