At least 1,600 Bangkok officials and volunteers will be on duty over Songkran in Phra Nakhon district to ensure tourists' safety at popular spots like on the Khao San and Silom roads.
District director Kosol Singhanat said his office expects a large number of tourists to visit three main areas during the holiday: Khao San Road, Sanam Luang and Phra Athit Road.
The government will host the "Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2024" at Sanam Luang, and the Wisut Kasat's Thephi Songkran beauty pageant will be held at Santi Chai Prakan Park on Phra Athit Road, he said.
He said the district office will deploy at least 1,600 officials and volunteers, including firefighters and nurses, to keep an eye on tourists at major Songkran venues.
The office will install CCTV cameras with artificial intelligence features and emergency booths along Khao San Road on April 11 before festivities kick off the following day, he said.
Some roads will partially be closed during the festival, but shuttle buses and taxis will be supplied, he said.
Sanga Ruangwattanakul, president of the Khao San Business Association, said there will be five floating Buddha statues complete with barrels containing holy water from five famous temples around the city as part of this year's Songkran event.
Khao San Road will be closed to vehicles from April 13–15 so party-goers can have fun on the road until 9pm, he said.
Afterwards, the road will open for restaurants and other businesses so they can resume service as normal, he said.
As for Silom Road, Tharaporn Amnuaysan, Bang Rak district director, said the road will be closed from Sala Daeng to the Silom-Narathiwat intersection from midday to midnight on April 13 and 14.
Ms Tharaporn said an event on the road is being co-organised by local authorities and the Culture Ministry.
For the government-organised event, Culture Minister Sermsak Pongpanich said it will kick off on April 11 in Bangkok and other major cities like Samut Prakan, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Khon Kaen.
The ministry is also promoting programmes at four World Heritage sites in the country: Sukhothai-Kamphaeng Petch Historical Parks, Ayutthaya Historical Park, Udon Thani's Ban Chang Archaeological Site and Petchabun's Si Thep Historical Park, he said.
The Tourism and Sports Ministry expects the long Songkran holiday to bring in 52.5 billion baht in tourism-related income for the country.
