Bangkok: Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, leader of the Thai Sang Thai Party, visited the Chatuchak Market area to address the grievances of the vendors. She highlighted ongoing corruption that benefits the private sector and expressed frustration over the lack of progress despite having lodged complaints with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) for over a year.
According to Thai News Agency, Khunying Sudarat discovered that the BMA had signed a contract with the private sector, permitting them to run a night market. This arrangement was supposed to allow vendors to operate beyond traditional business hours. However, it has led to issues as the private sector rents out the market space, which should belong to the market's owners. This lease agreement includes 700 stalls for 3.5 million baht, with vendors being charged 400 baht per day on weekends. This practice has disrupted the trading areas and led to conflicts over space, which has been reported to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
Khunying Sudarat further explained that the cabinet's resolution allowed BMA to manage the market with a maximum stall rental fee of 1,800 baht per month. Since Mr. Chadchart Sittipunt became the Bangkok governor, the fee increased to 2,800 baht, then reduced to 2,300 baht due to vendor opposition. Despite this, additional fees lead to almost 4,000 baht monthly expenses for vendors, and the food center fees have tripled. Efforts to communicate these grievances to the governor are ongoing.
Additionally, Khunying Sudarat mentioned issues with secretive contract extensions, penalties for late payments, and the closure of bathrooms in areas 1, 3, and 5 for renovations without a clear timeline, causing inconvenience for vendors and tourists.
She also reported that vendors faced threats after filing complaints, which created an atmosphere of hostility with the BMA. Khunying Sudarat assured that she would pursue these matters to ensure fairness for vendors, improve sales, and enhance the market's appeal to tourists.