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THOUSANDS
of food vendors are fearful about their future after officials from the
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) declared their intention to
clear them off streets for the sake of cleanliness.
For
three decades everyone from police and builders, to street cleaners and
partying rich kids have gorged on noodles at Uncle Pan’s street-side
stall in Bangkok’s chic-est neighbourhood.
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But now the
67-year-old food vendor is no longer welcome at his pavement spot, amid a
purge of food stalls by the city governor, who says they clutter up the
capital’s curbs. With dishes that average Bt35-55 a plate, most of the
city’s kerbside cooks don’t make a fortune selling their fare, which
ranges from grilled seafood skewers to somtam.
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But they have won
global acclaim as some of the finest fast food chefs in the world,
fuelling a booming city besotted by eating.
.
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The family-run stall is a fixture of a neighbourhood that has
exploded with development over the past few decades. But with the
deadline to clear off the street expiring this week, Pan must either
uproot his restaurant to a new locale or downsize so it doesn’t spill
onto the sidewalk.
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“I’ve been selling here since there was
nothing,” the genial, apron-wearing uncle told AFP, explaining that the
Thong Lor area was a tree-studded backwater when he first set up.
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Today, his customers sit ringside to a central artery of Bangkok’s
ritziest neighbourhood, lined with tower blocks, upscale restaurants and
nightclubs. That makes for a varied clientele that pulls from all
layers of the social fabric.
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“Office workers, police,
soldiers... even if they drive a Mercedes-Benz, they have the same right
to eat here,” Pan said, wiping away a bead of sweat as waiters buzzed
around him to serve an after-work crush.
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Good business, which sees Pan rake in around Bt30,000 a month, rests on these close ties to the neighbourhood.
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“We all know each other in this street. Everyone, factory workers,
company staff, they know me and we are friends... if we move, we won’t
have these relationships.”
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Yet city officials insist the
footpaths must be “returned to the public” and have laid out a plan to
bar tens of thousands of street stalls from main roads, instead
squeezing them into side-streets or hawkers’ centres.
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Wanlop
Suwandee, the Bangkok governor’s chief adviser, said local residents
wanted to reclaim their pavements, so the BMA had to undertake a tough
task to do just that.
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“After the successful mission [to reclaim]
several areas such as Siam Square and Pratunam, the BMA will manage the
area in Bang Lamphu, as the next target,” Wanlop said.
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“For areas
that have already been managed, there will be strict law enforcement to
prevent illegal vendors from returning to those areas. And if anyone
finds illegal vendors, they can contact BMA officers to deal with
|immediately.”
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He said this operation stemmed from many
complaints sent to the BMA from local people, who were inconvenienced by
being unable to walk on pavements occupied by street vendors. So, the
city’s administrators had to take action and get street vendors to move
into markets, where space was provided for them.
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“City Hall used
to allow these street vendors to legally sell [food] on the street in
the specific areas, but since the city is growing, these areas where
street vendors were allowed have to be revoked – to return the space
because of the increased urban population,” he said.
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However,
workers such as Pan, whose lives look set to be greatly affected, are
not sure what the future holds – other than more bowls of soup.
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“Even though we sometimes face troubles we have to keep selling. We have to fight to survive,” he said.
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