Rayong municipality plans eco-safe seaside Loy Krathong celebration

Sasiphat Jirattikanon, spokesperson and education division chief of Sunthorn Phu Municipality, said people will be allowed to float their krathongs in the sea on Monday night, as traps have been placed to stop them from floating too far.

She said that the municipality had not held a celebration last year, yet people still floated krathongs in the sea. Since no controls were put in place, these floats floated deeper into the sea, she added.

Hence, she said, to prevent this from happening again, the municipality has decided to restrict the Loy Krathong area by surrounding it with floating nets.

She said the nets are strong and will not allow the floats to be taken away with the current. The following morning, all floats will be retrieved and scuba divers will be deployed to comb the seabed for possibly sunken ones.

Sasiphat added that the municipality will also deploy around 10 security officials to stand by at the beach, ensuring security and assisting tourists. Officials will patrol the beach to request tourists not to float their krathongs outside the controlled spot.

Environmentalists have been calling on local authorities to not hold Loy Krathong events in the sea, over fears that a massive number of floats would pollute the sea. Most municipalities have responded to this call. For instance, Patong Municipality in Phuket has built a makeshift pool on the beach for tourists to float their krathongs instead of releasing them into the sea.