Vendors at doomed Rod Fai Market demand more time
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Vendors at Bangkok's Rod Fai Market Wednesday held a protest at the site of the demolished market demanding the right to stay and sell goods for another six months, saying they planned to hold more negotiations with the landlord, State Railway of Thailan
The protest followed Tuesday’s demolition of stalls at the market by an SRT-hired contractor to clear the site for construction of the Skytrain’s Red Line (Bang Sue-Rangsit). Previously the vendors had asked the SRT for permission to stay on for another six months to give them time to find a new place to peddle their wares, but the SRT told them to take it up with the company that was granted the Red Line concession.
The private company proposed that the vendors pay it Bt500,000 per month, to which the vendors said they verbally agreed. However, the company later brought in heavy machinery to demolish the market anyway, leading to the current tussle.
