Phuket scrubs up ahead of Vegetarian Festival

Phuket Gazette

A PRAYER BEFORE CLEANING: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak (right, closest to monument) shares a moment of reverence with the 'troops' before the cleaning begins. Photo: Srisoonthorn Municipality

Vice Governor Somkiet lends a hand hosing the streets clean. Photo: Srisoonthorn Municipality

PHUKET: -- Residents in Phuket’s Srisoonthorn area today staged their “Big Cleaning Day” to prepare for the upcoming Vegetarian Festival, which will get underway on Sunday night.

Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak led the event this morning, which began with cleaning the area immediately surrounding the island’s famed Heroines Monument.

Leading an army of volunteers and officers from Srisoonthorn Municipality was the local mayor, Worawut Songyot.

“This area must be well-cleaned to welcome people coming to Phuket. A lot of people will come for the Vegetarian Festival, and Srisoonthorn Municipality is the main area that people must drive through to get to Phuket Town.

“Also, many people already come to the Heroines Monument to pay their respects, and a lot more will come during the festival as it is one of Phuket’s main attractions,” Mayor Worawut said.

He praised the large turnout by local residents in the united effort to clean the streets.

“It proves that local residents and government officers can get along and are ready to keep their neighborhood clean,” Mayor Worawut added.

Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Somjai Thongsombat explained that the Heroines Monument was the “epicenter” of the cleaning effort.

“From the monument, we cleaned along the main roads until we reached the borders of neighboring municipal areas, which are north to the Thepkrasattri border, just before the Thalang Tesco; south to the Koh Kaew border, just before the Isuzu showroom; east to the Paklok border and west to the Cherng Talay border,” she explained.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle18133.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-10-10

Phuket must be quite a filthy place if they need a vegetarian festival to clan up their town. One wonders whether they would do the same for a carnivores festival. Probably not.