ID :
97611
Thu, 12/31/2009 - 20:33
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http://m.oananews.org//node/97611
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Thai, foreign revellers flock to countdown celebration amid tight security
BANGKOK, Dec 31 (TNA) – Both Thais and foreigners flocked to join the New Year’s Eve countdown event in downtown Bangkok amid a heavy police presence to prevent an untoward incident.
Over 2,000 officials, soldiers, and police officers have provided security at the CentralWorld, the major countdown party in Bangkok, said Pol Maj Gen Wimol Paoin, Deputy Metropolitan Police Chief.
City official and police inspected the environs including shrubbery and flower gardens, and utility poles and telephone booths. Phone booths and waste bins were moved from the area to prevent the planting of bombs, while specially-trained sniffer dogs and bomb detectors were used to make certain that no explosive devices had been placed in the area.
Plastic panels and barricades were erected to block access to immovable phone booths. Pedestrian bridges and a section of road at CentralWorld between Ratchaprasong and Pratunam intersections were closed from 6pm for security reasons.
Pol. Col Paisarn Luesomboon, superintendent of the Pathumwan police station said there has been no report of a plan to create any violence so far. Revellers can celebrate with confidence due to strict security by police officials, he said.
Officials have screen people who enter the countdown party, banning bringing weapons into the event.
Multiple bomb blasts in Bangkok on New Year's Eve 2006 killed three people and left 42 injured. Fireworks and pyrotechnic displays are banned at entertainment venues after a New Year's Eve blaze at a Bangkok nightclub last year killed 65 revellers last year.
Meanwhile, in the southern Thai province of Phuket, Provincial Administration Organisation chairman Paiboon Upatising said provincial and related agencies are holding a ‘Colourful Phuket Countdown 2010’ at the year end Thursday evening.
The event boasts concerts, art shows and multimedia light, colour and sound performances. A special effects system will be showcased, while 1,000 fireworks will be lit to celebrate the festive season at the provincial seat’s Saphan Hin area through New Year’s Day.
All activities are to promote tourism in the province and to attract tourists. At Kathu district’s Patong Beach, among others, tourists are streaming to the area for their holidays. (TNA)
Over 2,000 officials, soldiers, and police officers have provided security at the CentralWorld, the major countdown party in Bangkok, said Pol Maj Gen Wimol Paoin, Deputy Metropolitan Police Chief.
City official and police inspected the environs including shrubbery and flower gardens, and utility poles and telephone booths. Phone booths and waste bins were moved from the area to prevent the planting of bombs, while specially-trained sniffer dogs and bomb detectors were used to make certain that no explosive devices had been placed in the area.
Plastic panels and barricades were erected to block access to immovable phone booths. Pedestrian bridges and a section of road at CentralWorld between Ratchaprasong and Pratunam intersections were closed from 6pm for security reasons.
Pol. Col Paisarn Luesomboon, superintendent of the Pathumwan police station said there has been no report of a plan to create any violence so far. Revellers can celebrate with confidence due to strict security by police officials, he said.
Officials have screen people who enter the countdown party, banning bringing weapons into the event.
Multiple bomb blasts in Bangkok on New Year's Eve 2006 killed three people and left 42 injured. Fireworks and pyrotechnic displays are banned at entertainment venues after a New Year's Eve blaze at a Bangkok nightclub last year killed 65 revellers last year.
Meanwhile, in the southern Thai province of Phuket, Provincial Administration Organisation chairman Paiboon Upatising said provincial and related agencies are holding a ‘Colourful Phuket Countdown 2010’ at the year end Thursday evening.
The event boasts concerts, art shows and multimedia light, colour and sound performances. A special effects system will be showcased, while 1,000 fireworks will be lit to celebrate the festive season at the provincial seat’s Saphan Hin area through New Year’s Day.
All activities are to promote tourism in the province and to attract tourists. At Kathu district’s Patong Beach, among others, tourists are streaming to the area for their holidays. (TNA)
