Migrant workers cross borders for free during Songkran

Tak Immigration Superintendent Pol Colonel Man Rattanapratheep said on Monday the crossing in Tambon Tha Sai Luad had already seen thousands of people a day passing through and extra personnel had been added to speed the processing.
Man noted that the Cabinet decided on March 27 to waive border fees for migrant workers from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia from April 5-30.
Tak Governor Charoenrit Sanguansat and his counterpart in Myawaddy, Lui Go U, on Monday morning led 1,000 officials and volunteers from both nations in cleaning the First Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge to welcome the Songkran holidays and boost bilateral ties.
With the traditional New Year festival known for traffic congestion due to high volumes of holiday travellers, many migrant workers got an early start on their journeys this week.
Nakhon Phanom bus station was on Monday crowded with mainly Lao workers arriving from Bangkok on their way to Thakhek in Khammouane province and points beyond.
Lao passenger-truck driver Sitthiporn Phothichan, 49, said he usually made two trips between Nakhon Phanom and Thakhek, morning and evening, each time carrying about 15 passengers, but during Songkran, the number of passengers doubles.
A Lao worker in her 30s who’s been employed at the Navanakorn industrial estate in Pathum Thani for eight years said she’d taken three days’ leave on top of the three days her boss granted for Songkran so she could celebrate longer with family and friends.