Loy Krathong luck not with Ong Ang canal
Last week, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) put forward the idea of reclaiming the city’s reputation as the “Venice of the East”. Now guess what? City Hall this week has proposed another plan that will turn a city canal into the famous Cheonggyecheon Stream of Seoul.
The city canal that will be promoted after the Korean model is none other than Klong Ong Ang. The face-lifted canal, which for many years has served as an open drainage pipe, is being touted as a new site for the Loy Krathong Festival this evening.
Three years ago, the BMA demolished the old Saphan Lek Market (meaning steel bridge market), that had been in operation for more than two decades, to make the 270-metre section of the old canal a tourist destination.
Since then, the name Cheonggyecheon — the irrigation-turned-modernised urban park that became one of the mustsees of the South Korean capital — has emerged. In June, 2016, members of the City Council made a study tour to the Cheonggyecheon Stream. But I’m not sure if they really looked into the history of the Korean waterway or paid any attention to criticism of the Cheonggyecheon Stream.
The Cheonggyecheon project was initiated by former South Korea president Lee Myung-bak, who was also seen by some to have used such a redevelopment project to look like a can-do politician and as a springboard to the presidency. (Lee, the then Seoul mayor, was jailed on graft charges last month.)
The Cheonggyecheon Stream was used as a drainage outlet for the city for several centuries. Due to deterioration caused by a rising population, it was later paved over with concrete for sanitation purposes and eventually covered by a 5.6km elevated highway by 1976.
However, the mayor decided to tear the highway down in 2003, paving the way for a new urban park, in a bid to revitalise the area and make Seoul an environmentally friendly city. Initially, the project received opposition from traffic engineers who feared it would affect traffic in the inner city, but the Seoul city administrators decided to go ahead.
Since 2005, the restored stream has been well received by locals and tourists alike, as it’s included as a destination with a walking tour through the neighbourhood.
But if one digs deeper, the project isn’t as beautiful as it looks. According to The Guardian, Eunseon Park, a researcher at Yonsei University’s Urban Sustainability Transitions lab and director of the activism collective Listen to the City, pointed out in 2010 that the stream is not a natural waterway but an artificial one. The bottom of the stream was made of concrete and incapable of performing any purification function.
In its initial facelift plan, the BMA wanted to have a concrete bottom for Klong Ong Ang — solely for tourism purposes. But it had to revise its plans amid fears that it would worsen the canal’s ecological condition.
Compared to the Cheonggyecheon Stream, where trees provide plenty of shade, Klong Ong Ang looks lifeless as the BMA paved the canal banks with dull concrete. Mature trees were uprooted, presumably for safety reasons, and replaced with potted plants, the favourites of city officials. While looking neat, the spot is not practical, and is unusable during daytime without tree shade.
At least the Cheonggyecheon Stream left its drainage facility past behind it. But that is not possible for our Klong Ong Ang, which like most waterways in this country, will have to keep its function as a drainage system, receiving filthy water from households and businesses.
It will have a new function during Loy Krathong, a spot where people can float away their bad luck.
Three years on, the BMA reclaimed the 270-metre section of the canal and surrounding area.
They will glorify the old canal this evening, as they encourage revellers to use the spot.
The famous, yet-illegal, Saphan Lek market is a thing of the past. One thing that perplexes me is how the city allowed the illegal market to operate for more than 20 years without any action. Isn’t that negligence of duty?
There is one thing I am sure of: the BMA will not be short of ideas to “beautify” the city.
After the “Venice of the East” last week and the “Cheonggyecheon of Bangkok” this week, we may hear how the controversial riverside promenade, “The New Landmark of Thailand” will become the Bangkok Embankment (London) or Quais de Chao Phraya (Paris).
We always want to be like others, not ourselves.