An active citizen who resorted to superstition to deal with a pile of garbage has reported that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) says it will address the problem.
On 28 January 2019, Methus Kaewsaikao, a courageous citizen, took action to solve the problem of a pile of trash littering the mouth of Soi Lat Phrao 62. By placing offerings to worship the spirit of a fire hydrant and in turn creating a sacred space to deter littering, his method proved to be temporarily effective.
And now there have been several updates. On 29 January, he posted on Facebook:
“Just in: the BMA will deal with that area. Details are still unknown whether they will fence it in or put a garbage bin in the area. (I have heard that they will add more large garbage disposal facilities to the 7 already there.)
To be frank, the shrine still doesn’t work – as I posted earlier, we still cannot declare a victory. I intended to get it shared but did not think that it would really go viral – as you can observe if my post is set to public or friends only, I call that one a campaign.
So that ends the 20-year problem of Soi Lat Phrao 62, grand finale for the fire hydrant spirit. If anyone wants to copy, please feel free to do so.”
The post received many comments. Methus also mentioned Kob Passara Nitithammawut who reported that someone has used the same method and is waiting for the results:
“I like it! Usually the area will be covered by a pile of trash tossed by people from the market. Liquid from the trash is very, very smelly and dirty. When the rain season comes, it’s the worst! I would never walk through the area. It also bothers people waiting for the bus or going to the ATM here. But today a shrine has been set up here, and the area round about has become spanking clean. Tomorrow I will come to see if any trash has been dumped there.
Later on, Methus also posted in an update that the fire hydrant has been repainted by the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority. It looks as new as ever. But the pile of trash is still there:
“Answer: The Waterworks Authority has got there first. It’s been repainted beautifully. I must thank the Waterworks Authority for their concern about this problem. The spirit is a lot more colourful, but the pile of trash is still there.”
Prachatai English congratulates Methus on his great progress and hopes that the problem is dealt with soon.
