1,260,000 Krathongs Collected In Bangkok

[george]

KRATHONG COLLECTION

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) collected 1,260,000 krathongs, or decorative floats, from waterways in the capital following Loy Krathong on Wednesday night.

“The number was down 11 per cent from the 1,420,656 krathongs collected last year,” Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said yesterday.

The BMA ran a campaign titled “One Family, One Krathong” ahead of the festival in a bid to reduce garbage levels. Observers believe that the BMA’s campaign for “bread krathongs” which are eaten by fish, was another reason for the decrease in the number of floats that needed to be collected.

Apirak said styrofoam krathongs accounted for only 20 per cent of the krathongs that were collected this year.

-- The Nation 2005-11-18

[george]

Millions celebrate Loy Krathong festival

Candle-lit krathongs were cast adrift on water across the nation last night as millions of revellers turned out to celebrate the Loy Krathong festival. In lively festivals everywhere, people took part in colourful parades, music and beauty contests and the launching of krathongs.

Many local authorities hosted events to celebrate the festival that has been passed from generation to generation since the Sukhothai era.

On Loy Krathong night, people traditionally float their krathongs, or decorative baskets, on water to show gratitude to the Goddess of Water and ask her for forgiveness for improper use of the river and water resources during the past year.

Last night, krathong-floating festivals were held around the country, including Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Phayao, Prachin Buri, Ayutthaya and of course, Bangkok.

In the capital, 18 public parks were open to revellers until midnight where people could be seen carrying a krathongs of every size and shape.

Aside from beautiful krathongs made of banana leaves and flowers, floats made of bread were also popular. The Bangkok administration had been promoting bread krathongs saying that it was good for the environment and hungry fish.

Huge interest in the festival was reflected in traffic jams leading to major sites. Mobile-phone networks were also busy, as people tried to catch up with friends and relatives to meet up and float krathongs.

It was also a busy night for law-enforcement authorities. Police across the country manned checkpoints and patrolled various areas to prevent drunk-driving and brawls.

In addition, more than 4,300 officials went out in force last night to remove more than 1 million krathongs from city waterways.

--The Nation 2005-11-18