The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has decided to waive rental fees for a year for operators of 110 stalls in Chatuchak market who were victims of a fire on Sunday night, Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang said on Sunday.
Waiving the fees was one of four rehabilitation measures the City Hall has agreed upon to alleviate hardship for the vendors. The others were compensation of 10,000 baht for each vendor, setting up make-shift tents for them to do business and covering their repair costs, said Pol Gen Aswin, who met affected vendors at the market.
According to police, an exploding transformer inside the market is suspected to have caused the fire which broke out at 9pm on Sunday, damaging 110 shops in Blocks 22 and 25 -- covering an area of 1,000 square metres. It took about half an hour to contain the blaze.
Forensic police are investigating the cause of the fire and the BMA has yet to assess the damage. There were no reports of deaths or injuries.
