One of the reasons Bangkok floods - Twitter picture of fat clogging the drains

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One of the reasons Bangkok floods - Twitter picture of fat clogging the drains

 

Picture: Sanook

 

BANGKOK: -- A picture of a huge slab of congealed fat clogging the drains has highlighted one of the reasons why Bangkok had such severe flooding last week.

 

Drain cleaners from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration were in Wang Thong Lang district when Twitter user @epinephrinerx snapped this picture.

 

The caption said: "This was not earth but fat clogging the drains".

 

Sanook called on the BMA to work on the issue before the next heavy rains create more mayhem in the capital.

 

The news media and people commenting laid the blame squarely on roadside restaurants for throwing untreated waste into the drains.

 

Source: Sanook

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-05-29

[harada]

Give it time and the Burmese and Cambodians will be bought back in to do these demeaning jobs.

[darksidedog]

Pretty nasty, but it does clearly show the need for the drains to be cleaned far more regularly. The issue of where it came from obviously needs to be addressed too, but if the drains were maintained year round, rather than just when the flooding rolls in, it wouldn't have got to this disgusting state.

[petermik]

Recyclable?

[iReason]

2 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

The issue of where it came from obviously needs to be addressed too, 

 

Street food vendors and small restaurants routinely dump their used oil/waste directly into the drains.

 

Many restaurants have plastic tubing going straight out to the drains.

 

You can see everywhere you go. Everynight.

 

I have witnessed it countless times.

 

"The news media and people commenting laid the blame squarely on roadside restaurants for throwing untreated waste into the drains."

[Thechook]

Havent they heard of recycling

[iReason]

3 minutes ago, Thechook said:

Havent they heard of recycling

 

The oil they use is "recycled".

 

They buy it from agents who purchase used/burnt out oil from bigger restaurants.

[clockman]

They never learn. All so no money to be had in this for the politicions

[jollyhangmon]

2 hours ago, iReason said:

 

The oil they use is "recycled".

 

They buy it from agents who purchase used/burnt out oil from bigger restaurants.

Yep, exactly.

Damn, looks like solid concrete ... poorly mixed though.

[trogers]

Now you know why eating out is cheap. Cheap oil to clog your arteries, like to the storm drains...

[williamgeorgeallen]

the problem is no one knows the drains are clogged till it rains. clearly there is no way around this problem or it would have been solved many years ago.

 

[leither69]

Bad governance. Easy to catch the culprits and charge them for cleaning the drains.  

[samsensam]

 

this another reason to clear away street vendors and ensure they are placed in an effectively managed area - as happened to good effect on asoke road.

 

i, along i'm sure with many people here, regularly see street food vendors emptying vats of liquid, often containing fat and food residue, into the drain. i have seen other street vendors sweeping their patch and instead of disposing of the material sensibly they sweep it into a drain.

 

while  not the only culprits proper management of street vendors will contribute positively to resolving this and other problems e.g. stopping the blocking of pavements so they can be used by all and not the few.

[sanukjim]

3 hours ago, clockman said:

They never learn. All so no money to be had in this for the politicions

Even when they are installing new drains the contractors will be laying the concreat pipes in the ditch but not cover the ends of the pipe when they leave it for days or even weeks thus the sands and trash drift down into the pipe .As the pipes are laid more and more sand (remember we live on river delta ) keep accumulating and the drains will not work as planed. The combination of laziness and tepidness is no match against mother nature.

[janclaes47]

1 minute ago, sanukjim said:

Even when they are installing new drains the contractors will be laying the concreat pipes in the ditch but not cover the ends of the pipe when they leave it for days or even weeks thus the sands and trash drift down into the pipe

 

If that was the only problem. I regret I didn't take pictures when they laid the drains beside the highway 7 in Pattaya about a year ago.

 

That was really beyond shoddy workmanship.

[Moti24]

"The news media and people commenting laid the blame squarely on roadside restaurants for throwing untreated waste into the drains."

 

Been happening for years!  How often do they clean these drains!

 

[Belzybob]

Useless, thick, fat, clogs things up? Damn, put it in politics!

[Golden Triangle]

These people are really, really thick, when will they ever learn, it's about time the BMA got serious and started fining/closing the offenders down.

[8OA8]

Give it time and the Burmese and Cambodians will be bought back in to do these demeaning jobs.

That task is usually carried out by the Corrections Department and they use convicts that volunteer for the work

Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

[8OA8]

"The news media and people commenting laid the blame squarely on roadside restaurants for throwing untreated waste into the drains."
 
Been happening for years!  How often do they clean these drains!

 

I usually see them once a year on my soi. You know they are coming as the ropes are laid out and the cut off steel drums they use to pull through the drains are usually piled up along the soi the evening before.

Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

[Jonmarleesco]

'The news media and people commenting laid the blame squarely on roadside restaurants for throwing untreated waste into the drains.'

 

And both the stalls and numerous customers question the BMA's decision to clear the pavements of them. Not the main reason, by any means, but a damned good one. 

[Redline]

Fat, sand, sofas.  I do like the way the people in charge of keeping the drainage cleared just chill all year until there are major floods, then decide to work, and tell people not to put all this in the sewer system with no penalties or enforcement.  I didn't do it, and I won't do it again

[tifino]

 

I'd rather having to cope with clogged drains,

than have the Chinese come in and convert it into Gutter Oil for the street food vendors

Edited May 29, 2017 by tifino

[louse1953]

7 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Pretty nasty, but it does clearly show the need for the drains to be cleaned far more regularly. The issue of where it came from obviously needs to be addressed too, but if the drains were maintained year round, rather than just when the flooding rolls in, it wouldn't have got to this disgusting state.

Out off sight out of mind thinking and thats what you get.Why shouldn't the road cafes take it to a central point and recycle it.Have you heard Confusius say that prevention is better than cure.

[johng]

Recyclable?

Yes can be made into bio diesel !

[garbolino]

4 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

the problem is no one knows the drains are clogged till it rains. clearly there is no way around this problem or it would have been solved many years ago.

 

we have trucks that go around sucking all the roadside drains on a regular basis in England but not in BKK for some reason

[Searat7]

8 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Pretty nasty, but it does clearly show the need for the drains to be cleaned far more regularly. The issue of where it came from obviously needs to be addressed too, but if the drains were maintained year round, rather than just when the flooding rolls in, it wouldn't have got to this disgusting state.

I have seen the street food vendors regularly insert a funnel in street drain to insert their daily coking waste. This needs to be stopped.

[williamgeorgeallen]

9 hours ago, garbolino said:

we have trucks that go around sucking all the roadside drains on a regular basis in England but not in BKK for some reason

genius. i actually say this happen just after the 2011 floods in pattaya. would have been better if it was done before.

[chaiyapoon]

This happens to some degree in all cities.Probably worse here as most drains are not capable of handling the sheer volume of oils and fats put into them as there likely no waste traps fitted anywhere and it won't just be kerb side food vendors it will be all homes and restaurants too. massive re-education and enforcement needed to stop this .But hey this is Thailand so don't expect anything to change in our lifetime. Without waste traps all the oils from washing up will end up in the drains and create fat icebergs that clog the whole drainage system.

[Johnmeldrum]

If Thailand does not regularly clean drains then flooding will keep happening pity the people who get flooded can't sue the government for failing to do there job . This is one drain being cleaned in Hua Hin