Narang Plonguan, assistant vice president of Yodpiman told The Nation that after Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) asked it to prepare space, 200 stalls – out of 1,073 stalls prepared at Yodpiman – had been booked by flower vendors since last December.

The prepared zone would be divided into three sections: indoor stalls, outdoor stalls, and riverside stalls, beside Yodpiman’s old area full of wholesale and retail shops.

“The stall size will be arranged by vendors themselves and we price each stall by square metres used,” he said. An outdoor stall of 1.5m by 1-metre size would mean Bt3,500 monthly rent, he said, as an example.

Outdoor stalls could sell goods for 12 hours a day (6pm to 6am), but indoor and riverside ones could sell goods around the clock, he added.

As the stalls had been prepared months ago upon the BMA request, Narang revealed that his company had shouldered a Bt3-million burden while waiting for the vendors to decide if they want to relocate to the alternative market.

“If the vendors don’t want to come, there are several investors or others who would come anyway, because the area’s booming,” he said.

Yodpiman was one of several alternate markets – others were the Agricultural Product Central Market and the Tha Din Daeng Market – that Pak Klong Talad vendors, and those at the nearby Saphan Phut Bridge, were told to relocate to.

Last week, BMA officials seeking to move the vendors, gave leniency – saying they had until February 29 to run their businesses as usual (from 8.30pm to 4.30am) before shifting. This was on condition they stay in the designated stall zone for the rest of time and there is no parking from Chak Phetch and Tri Phrtch roads.

Pak Klong Talad flower vendor Supapon Whanchaaim, who rented an indoor stall at Yodpiman’s new market section, told The Nation that she has been in the flower business for more than 16 years, as it was passed onto her by her mother. She said she still had another shop on the street in Pak Klong Talad area.

Supaporn said she had to pay Bt40,000 in monthly rent for the 36 square-metre stall, plus other fees like property tax and utilities, which put her monthly costs at about Bt50,000 a month, while she only made around Bt30,000.

“I’ve rented this stall to sell flowers for about six months now but still can’t afford the rent and expenses, so I have to take my budget from another stall on the street to keep this indoor shop going.”

Pak Klong Talad was more convenient for customers to get goods from the street and load them onto a tuk tuk or public bus, which don’t run to the new Yodpiman, she said.

Another flower vendor, Nirat Sornurat, said she was concerned about the rental fee, as sales had dropped over the last two years. “One of my regular clients used to buy 5,000 blooms per day from me, but now he buys only 2,500 blooms. I used to sell five truckloads of flowers a day, but now one truckload could be sold for three days.”

The Department of Disease Control (DDC) revealed that in 2014 more than 400,000 cases of HIV among foreign workers were reported, while incomplete treatment of tuberculosis had caused the disease to become drug resistant. In addition, previously eliminated diseases such as leprosy had reappeared in Thailand because of labour migration.

Disease Prevention and Control 2 Phitsanulok Office director Sakchai Chaimahapruk said there were many problems containing infectious diseases among foreign workers. They included the lack of proper health check-ups for migrant workers, discontinued treatment causing diseases to become drug resistant, and a medicine and funding shortage.

“We are now having problems containing trans-border diseases. Some diseases, which were eradicated from Thailand long ago, such as leprosy, have reappeared in the border areas. We also have problems treating infectious diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis,” Sakchai said.

He said it was impossible to check everyone because Thailand receives millions of foreign workers each year, both legally and illegally.

The DDC reported that in 2014 there were 400,500 cumulative HIV cases, 7,270 malaria cases, 3,252 tuberculosis cases, 232 elephantiasis cases and 47 leprosy cases detected among foreign workers. It was noted that the statistics might have discrepancies because of duplicate cases.

Seksan Srikaew, acting director of disease control at Mae Sot Immigration Bureau, said the bureau performed disease inspections for serious infections such as Ebola and Mers on travellers everyday but did not prioritise localised infectious diseases.

“We are looking for group travellers who might be carrying serious diseases. If we notice individuals showing signs of sickness, we will conduct a quarantine procedure to diagnose their illness,” Seksan said.

He admitted that immigration officials had insufficient manpower and resources to operate the health inspections properly. Also, illegal immigration evaded inspection entirely.

Another problem is that some foreign workers do not apply for the Universal Health Coverage (UC) insurance scheme so they do not have a health examination, Sackchai said.

“Even if we detected workers who were infected, they usually did not finish the treatment properly and ceased medication before they had taken all the prescribed drug dosage, leading to drug resistance,” he added.

“This was because many foreign workers usually migrate to the inner business areas. The case transfers were complicated and many did not continue their medication.”

He said that funding was also a problem because some drugs were not on the list of medicines available for foreign workers’ UC insurance. The problem is complicated because The Global Fund’s HIV antiviral drug sponsorship expires this year, so a new sponsor needs to be found.

In sharp contrast though, the other day, several people were seen on their hands and knees on the street looking for a working mobile phone in a pile of shabby old ones.

“Only Bt40 per piece,” Somjit Pornpimon, a vendor selling old mobile phones, announced.

Somjit, 46, is among 10 other vendors selling used cellphones in Khlong Thom – a weekend flea market nestled in a narrow lane between five-storey shabby buildings.

She explained that typically she buys used or damaged mobile phones from ragpickers in different parts of the city from Monday to Thursday so she can sell them at the weekend.

She then piles up her purchases on the street to sell, with prices changing according to the time of day. For instance, on Saturday mornings the price is Bt50 per piece, but it drops to between Bt10 and Bt30 late on Sunday when the market is wrapping up.

Somjit, who has been doing business of this sort since she was 16, explained that there are three types of buyers.

“There are those who like antique-looking phones, then there are the repairers – those who buy mobiles so they can fix and sell them – and then there’s the factory guys, who buy between 500 and 1,000 pieces in any condition to sell as material.”

More than a million cellphones are thrown away in Thailand per year. A survey by the Electronic Transaction Development Agency released last year showed that an average Thai changes his or her mobile phone every six months. The reason for this change can range from keeping up with the rapidly evolving technology to getting a device with better battery life, a bigger screen or just getting one that looks good.

Few people nowadays would even consider an old-fashioned Nokia.

“Can I have the same amount today?” a middle-aged man can be heard asking Somjit.

This is Pon, a regular customer who buys about 2,000 phones every time he visits.

“I’ve been doing this business for more than a decade now. Every week I purchase some 10,000 shabby phones before separating bits such as copper, lead, silver, gold and plastic. Then these parts are collected and sold to factories,” he explained, as he begins counting and throwing phones into a sack.

Then there was a man wandering around with different mobile phone batteries of different brands. He identified himself as Tee, saying he has been in the mobile-repair business for six years now. He usually buys old phones at the market and then looks around for similar models to use as spare parts. He then fixes the mobiles and sells them on the street for prices ranging from Bt100 to Bt1,000.

“I also repair phones earning between Bt500 and Bt4,000 depending on my luck. I believe this business is going to pick up as people often change their mobile phones. However, the only thing that concerns me is that this is a small market and will not be able to deal with the rising number of used phones,” he added.

So, if you wonder where your old mobiles go, maybe visiting the Khlong Thom market behind Klang Hospital might give you an idea.

 

THE METROPOLITAN Waterworks Authority (MWA) will test lower-water-volume distribution for 24 consecutive hours in some areas this week as it braces for an imminent drought crisis.

The test will run from 9pm Thursday till 9pm Friday.

“We need to make preparations for any emergency and any water crisis during the 2016 dry season,” the MWA said.

The announcement explained that its waterworks facility in eastern Bangkok might have to cut its production volume in the face of declines in available water.

Affected areas during the upcoming test include communities along two parts of Nonthaburi Road: one stretching from Bang Toranee Canal to Rattanathibet Road, and the other from Rattanathibet to Fai Jia Meng Mill.

Also affected are communities along Bang Kruay – Sai Noi Road, Ban Kluay – Sai Noi Road, Bang Bua Thong – Suphan Buri Road, Kanchanaphisek Road and Highway No 9.

MWA services cover Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Nonthaburi. More than 10 million people live in these areas.

During a recent seminar, prominent water expert Assoc Prof Dr Seree Supharatid said the drought crisis would definitely hit the country. He noted that the volume of water flowing into dams was smallest in 2015-16.

“So, over the next four to five months, everyone needs to save water to help the country wade through this crisis,” he said.

Seree predicted that significant rain would not come to the country till late July or perhaps early August.

MWA governor Thanasak Watanathana is now calling on people to save tapwater. To encourage people to lower tap water consumption, MWA has offered to give a discount of Bt100 to Bt200 on charges for users who can reduce water consumption by at least 10 per cent during March to April.

The Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) has also disclosed that 10 of its branches were now facing a high risk of a water shortage.

These branches are in Chachoengsao, Nakhon Ratchasima, Suphan Buri, Ratchaburi, Pattani, Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, Nong Bua Lam Phu and Nakhon Sawan.

The PWA is closely monitoring 51 other branches too, due to concerns that they too may be hit by drought.

The threat has already become real in several provinces. In Ratchaburi, tap water production has faltered because of the lack of “raw water”.

In Tak, Tambon Walay Administrative Organisation’s chief executive Lt Chalerm Boonpornwong said the ongoing drought crisis in his province was the worst ever.

“I’d never found water shortage go this serious before. I am now seeking help from the provincial governor,” he said.

In Pathum Thani, the water level in Rahaeng Canal dropped so low yesterday the ancient floating market on the canal looked more like a land-based market.

In Phichit, farmers lamented that lotuses in their farms had withered due to water shortage. “We can’t earn any money,” Boonchuay Sa-nguannam, a local farmer said.

Senior agricultural officials have conceded that the low level of water supplies for the dry season at this point is not good.

“The situation is not quite good. Now we have far less water in our stock than last year,” Thongplew Kongjun, director of the Water Management and Hydrology Office at the Royal Irrigation Department (RID), said at the ministry’s press briefing.

In the Chao Phraya basin, water stored in the four major reservoirs, including the Bhumibol and Sirikit dams, would only be about 1,500 million cubic metres at the end of the dry season in April.

Senior officials at the briefing including Agriculture Minister General Chatchai Sarikalya tried to downplay fears of a possible water shortage, saying daily water distribution still strictly followed plans, but it could only serve two purposes – consumption and ecological preservation.

The RID is now only able to discharge about 18 million cubic metres a day. But the officials said this would last till August, if the plan was strictly adhered to.

The trees, scientifically named Tabebuia rosea, are called Chomphoo Phantip in Thai.

The intense flowering periods are near the end of February through early March.