Homeless people in Greater Bangkok regulated in order

BANGKOK, March 13 (TNA) - Agencies concerned have joined forces to regulate homeless and beggars in Bangkok and its surrounding areas, including migrant ones, to maintain social order. Puttipat Lertchaowasit, Director-General of the Department of Social Development and Welfare, under the Thai Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, told journalists of the move on Monday, as instructed by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, who is also in charge of national security. Puttipat said concrete day and night surveys by a team of officials from his department and relevant agencies, including the Royal Thai Police, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Ministry of Public Health, during March 1-12 found 85 homeless people and 76 beggars, 41 of whom are migrant ones from neighboring countries. According to the senior official, most of these people are unemployed or suffering from physical and psychological illnesses, as well as the elderly and those abandoned by their families. The senior official noted that all the homeless and beggars have, thus, undergone screening processes and have already been assisted by concerned agencies, while the migrant ones have been sent to the Immigration Bureau for being deported to their home countries. Besides, temporary shelters, named "Baan Mit Maitree" for the homeless have been opened in areas nationwide where the homeless are often found to provide them with needed daily facilities, namely bathrooms and response services to their complaints and problems. (TNA)