City officials are tidying up Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district to prevent homeless people from taking shelter on the iconic road, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) spokesman Aekvarunyoo Amrapala said on Friday.

He said that the BMA was acting on complaints from local residents that homeless people were using the avenue for sleeping at night, as well as urinating on the roadside which is causing public nuisance.
To solve the problem, officials from Phra Nakhon district office will patrol the avenue as well as the connecting Dinso Road until the head office of Deves Insurance every day at 5am to make sure that no persons were sleeping on public walkways.

On school days, officials from the City Law Enforcement Department would be stationed on the crosswalk in front of Satri Withaya School on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue to ensure the safety of students and parents using the crosswalk before and after school, he added.

On Friday, Nipat Thonglek, an adviser to the Bangkok governor, visited the avenue to supervise the operations. He also urged homeless people in the area to use public showers, laundry rooms and toilets that the city has built under the Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge located just northwest of the avenue.

The facilities are managed and maintained by the Mirror Foundation, and is located not far from the drop-in point where people donate foods and other necessities to the underprivileged.

Nipat added that the city has also set up booths providing services such as medical check-ups, humanitarian aid, and job applications.