Thailand celebrates Princess 60th birthday

BANGKOK, April 2 (TNA) - Thailand celebrates Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's 60th birthday on April 2. In Bangkok, Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha led his Cabinet members, government officials, state enterprises' staff, representatives of the private sector and the general public to give alms to 161 Buddhist monks at Sanam Luang ceremonial ground on early Thursday morning to pay tribute and honour the revered Princess on the auspicious occasion. Donned in purple, the color which symbolises Saturday, the day Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was born, Prime Minister General Prayut and his wife, Naraporn Chan-ocha, later signed their names and wrote their best wishes to the Princess on the auspicious occasion at the Sahathai Samakhom Pavillion inside the Grand Palace. At the Royal Thai Navy Convention Hall in the capital, Navy Chief Admiral Kraisorn Chansuvanich presided over an event in honour of the Princess, in which activities were organised and joined by navy officers and people from all walks of life, including a release of a catch of fish varieties into waters. Meanwhile, people have actively queued to get a 100-baht special banknote, issued by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) in honour of the Princess on the auspicious occasion, at all branches of Siam Commercial Bank and four other authorised financial institutes. BOT has issued 10 million units of the special 100-baht banknote to be exchanged by the public as a souvenir on the auspicious occasion. In the Thai North, a caravan of 561 bikes was released in Chiang Rai Province in honour of the Princess, as all the bikers wore purple shirts and rode their bikes along a 61 kilometre-route in the heart of the city, passing through provincial tourist attractions. In the Thai Northeast, an international bike competition, entitled the Tour of Thailand 2015, was organised in Buri Ram Province, in which bikers from over 20 countries participated, starting from in front of the Buri Ram Rajabhat Univeristy (BRU) to nearby Roi Et Province, where all of the bikers would sign their well-wishing messages for the Princess. In Samut Songkram Province, the provincial governor led local people to wear purple shirts and donate their blood to pay tribute to the Princess. On Thursday evening, at 7:19pm (Thailand's time), a candle-lighting ceremony was set to organise simultanenously nationwide by the government and other allied agencies in honour of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, in which government officials and people from all walks of life would extend their best wishes to the Princess on her 60th birthday anniversary. In the capital, the ceremony would be held at Sanam Luang ceremonial ground. (TNA)