Rocket tradition being spoiled, critics say
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The "Bang Fai" traditional fairs, which stem from the Northeastern belief that firing rockets off will appease local deities and ensure abundant rains, are now turning into an excuse for revellers to gamble and drink heavily, say critics.
Traditional Bang Fai rockets often reached went as high as 1,500 metres and stayed aloft for only up to a minute, but now these simple bamboo rockets are out of fashion and have been replaced by machine-built metal contraptions, filled with highly explosive potassium nitrate.
The modern rockets come in three types – “Bang Fai Meun”, “Bang Fai Saen” and “Bang Fai Lan” – named after the heights to which they can climb.
A “Bang Fai Meun” is made from a 7-centimetre wide, 2.5-metre long PV pipe filled with 12 kilos of potassium nitrate. It can soar to a height of 5 kilometres.
The “Bang Fai Saen” is slightly larger – a 12cm wide, 3m-long PVC pipe filled with 120kg of potassium nitrate that can reach heights of 8 to 9km and stay in the air for up to nine minutes.
Then comes the “Bang Fai Lan” – a 20cm-wide, 4.5-metre-long PVC pipe, filled with up to a tonne of potassium nitrate. Last but not least is the “Bang Fai Sib Lan”, a 30cm-wide, 6m-long PVC pipe filled with two tonnes of potassium nitrate. The craftsmen who design these rockets can make them soar up to 8 or 10km, higher than some aircraft, which in low-flying areas cruise at only 3km or so.
These new Bang Fai rockets are so large that their metal casings can pose a serious hazard. Once their fuel is spent, the casings fall to the ground at a high speed, creating a real danger for aviation as well as people’s homes.
Gambling is believed to be the main reason why the Bang Fai continue to grow larger, as bets are placed on how long a particular rocket is likely to stay in the air. More and more Bang Fai gambling dens are opening up and this in turn is leading to corruption as “kickbacks” worth hundreds of thousands of baht are paid out to local bodies or senior officials to allow the dens to stay open.
Frequent punter Kla (whose real name is withheld) said the dens were known only among regulars. Regular punters include monks and even local officials. He said these punters only attended the fairs on rocket launching days, and in some areas tens of thousands of punters could turn out, resulting in a daily cash flow of up to Bt10 million, while kickbacks could reach as much as Bt1 million a day, Kla said.
While the Bang Fai festival in Yasothon’s Muang district is a fun day out for many, villagers in areas that are at risk of falling rockets feel that their neighbourhoods are turning into war zones. Many leave their homes a day or two before Bang Fai fairs begin – fearing for their safety as well as possible fires. “We’re relieved that fair organisers bought a insurance for the village in case a falling rocket caused damage, “ said one village headman, Uthai Matleung.
_ This is the last in a two-part series.
