Walk through Bangkok's last remaining slum before it's replaced with shopping malls
- 5 years ago
Take a walk through Bangkok's last remaining slum - which is being earmarked for gentrification.
The Klong Toey slum in the heart of Thai capital is home to more than 100,000 poverty-stricken Thais. Situated alongside a canal, the disease-ridden area is known for its high levels of crime. But despite that, it has become a ''photographer's dream'' and many foreign visitors to the country enjoy walking through the filthy streets to capture the deprived underclass of natives going about their everyday lives.
Footage taken on May 15 shows shocking levels of plastic pollution, loose chickens, children playing on disused railway tracks and a young girl dumping her rubbish in an open street.
The slum has been opened since 1989 but has become a contentious political issue, with the area being plagued by crime and regular fires among the areas wooden homes.
The Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) has now announced plans to build a sprawling shopping mall and real-estate project on 355 acres of land in the area.
PAT director-general Kamolsak Promprayoon said: ''It will be something like the new Iconsiam mall. The format will basically be a large business city with the goal of becoming a new landmark and tourism centre in the capital that offers convenient.''
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who paid a visit to Klong Toey last week, stressed the importance of speeding up a 7.5-billion-baht "Smart Community" project.
This will see about 12,500 families who are illegally occupying the densely populated area near the port evicted, Mr Kamolsak said.
The developments, which will start in the coming months, will see a rapid development of Bangkok's last remaining slum and an end to the area much visited by travel photographers looking for gritty real-life shots.
The Klong Toey slum in the heart of Thai capital is home to more than 100,000 poverty-stricken Thais. Situated alongside a canal, the disease-ridden area is known for its high levels of crime. But despite that, it has become a ''photographer's dream'' and many foreign visitors to the country enjoy walking through the filthy streets to capture the deprived underclass of natives going about their everyday lives.
Footage taken on May 15 shows shocking levels of plastic pollution, loose chickens, children playing on disused railway tracks and a young girl dumping her rubbish in an open street.
The slum has been opened since 1989 but has become a contentious political issue, with the area being plagued by crime and regular fires among the areas wooden homes.
The Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) has now announced plans to build a sprawling shopping mall and real-estate project on 355 acres of land in the area.
PAT director-general Kamolsak Promprayoon said: ''It will be something like the new Iconsiam mall. The format will basically be a large business city with the goal of becoming a new landmark and tourism centre in the capital that offers convenient.''
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who paid a visit to Klong Toey last week, stressed the importance of speeding up a 7.5-billion-baht "Smart Community" project.
This will see about 12,500 families who are illegally occupying the densely populated area near the port evicted, Mr Kamolsak said.
The developments, which will start in the coming months, will see a rapid development of Bangkok's last remaining slum and an end to the area much visited by travel photographers looking for gritty real-life shots.