Clean sweep: 150 tonnes of post-Songkran waste vanish from Bangkok

Some 150 tonnes of waste was cleared from Silom and Khao San roads following the conclusion of Songkran festivities. This colossal clean-up operation was overseen by Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, who visited Khao San Road yesterday to assess the situation and boost the morale of the city’s cleaning personnel.

Khao San Road and its surrounding area were found to be strewn with talc, refuse, glass bottles, cardboard, water guns, and water buckets, among other debris. To counter this, the cleaning crew started their task at 4am yesterday, employing six water trucks to cleanse the streets.

Chadchart appreciated the cleaning efforts by the staff.

“After everyone has had fun, it’s our duty to do the cleaning. Thank you to all the cleaners for tidying our city.”

According to the Phra Nakhon District Office, the Khao San Road area alone had accumulated 116 tonnes of rubbish from April 12 to April 14. In contrast, the Bangrak District Office reported that Silom Road was littered with 33.5 tonnes of rubbish on April 13 and April 14. These figures underscore the scale of the post-festival clean-up that was necessary to restore order in the city, reported Bangkok Post.

In related news, traffic swelled on the roads heading towards Bangkok as the long holiday season drew to a close, with authorities opening additional lanes to manage the influx. Yesterday, citizens began returning to the capital in droves after celebrating the Songkran festival.

The Mittraphap Road, a major thoroughfare connecting the northeastern region of Thailand to Bangkok, experienced significant congestion, particularly at the 39-kilometre mark descending from Khao Khlang Dong in Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province.

Authorities from Nakhon Ratchasima’s Highway Police implemented special traffic measures extending from Pak Chong to Saraburi Province to help ease the gridlock. Specifically, between Muak Lek District and Kaeng Khoi District, they opened extra lanes from the 30-kilometre mark in Muak Lek to the 17-kilometre mark in Thap Kwang, Kaeng Khoi.