Members of the public will be allowed inside the throne hall from 8am to 9pm every day except on days when royal ceremonies must be held at the site.
With a huge turnout expected, the Interior Ministry, for instance, has tentatively set a quota for 750 mourners from each region to enter the hall per day to ensure that everybody travelling from the provinces has a chance to pay respects.
“If we don’t come up with a plan, a huge number people may show up at the palace at the same time and not everybody will get a chance to pay homage to the Royal urn, Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda explained yesterday.
Since His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away at the age of 89 on October 13, massive crowds have been showing up at the Grand Palace every day to pay their respects.
Under the Interior Ministry’s plan, local leaders such as district chiefs, kamnans, village heads or top executives from local administrative bodies should join mourners heading from their areas, so they can supervise and facilitate the trip.
“We will try to provide convenience and guidelines, including information about the dress code,” Anupong said.
He said his ministry was coordinating with the Royal Household Bureau about the number of mourners the hall can accommodate.
Assistant government spokeswoman Colonel Thaksada Sungkajan said Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who also heads the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), has instructed all government agencies to offer convenience to people coming to pay homage to the late monarch.
Colonel Sirichan Ngathong, deputy spokeswoman of the NCPO, said the council has already told the joint-safety operation centre to make preparations for the huge turnout of mourners.
“The centre will deliver both convenience and safety,” she said.
According to Sirichan, the centre has received a good response from people since it began operating on October 14, as they are united and willing to cooperate.
Separately, Prayut said he will chair the committee tasked with organising the Royal cremation. “We will set up other panels to help with the work,” he said.
He added that the permanent secretary of the PM’s Office would play a key role in organising the grand cremation ceremony, although everything will be done in cooperation with the Royal Household Bureau.
The prime minister also extended thanks to HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn for providing free food to the tens of thousands of mourners showing up at the Grand Palace every day.