Nearly 640,000 krathongs, mostly biodegradable, floated in Bangkok
As many as 639,828 krathongs were floated on Bangkok’s myriad canals for Loy Krathong this year, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) reported on Tuesday.
Statistics gathered by the BMA’s Environment Department revealed that the number of krathongs floated on Bangkok canals this year increased by 11 per cent compared to 572,602 last year.
Almost all – 618,951 krathongs – this year were made of natural materials, while 20,877 were made of foam.
BMA said Bangkokians are more environmentally conscious this year, as the number of biodegradable krathongs rose to 96.74%, compared to 95.7% last year. Meanwhile, krathongs made from foam dropped to 3.26%, compared to 4.3% last year.
Most Bangkokians floated their krathongs in Khlong Sam Wa district – 31,575 – while Pom Prap Sattru Phai district saw the least – 160.
Khlong Sam Wa district is also the champion in the most biodegradable krathongs ratings – 31,560 – while Bueng Kum district has the highest number of foam krathongs at 1,579.
This year’s Loy Krathong festival fell on Monday (November 27). Dubbed Thailand’s festival of lights, it is marked by people releasing small, decorated floats called krathong to honour the water goddess on the full moon night of the 12th lunar month.
To prevent krathongs from blocking the city’s drainage system, BMA officials started fishing out krathongs from public canals from 8pm Monday to 5am on Tuesday. The collected biodegradable krathongs will be turned into fertiliser.
BMA also reported that as many as 290,886 people floated their krathongs at the city’s 34 public parks on Monday night, with Benchasiri, Lumphini, and Benjakitti parks seeing the most visitors, respectively.
