Traffic laws strictly enforced during Songkran

BANGKOK, April 11 (TNA) - Stricter traffic laws are enforced during the ongoing Songkran or Traditional Thai New Year Festival, when people travel for their Songkran celebrations or leave for their hometowns and then return to resume work. As people have started heading for their hometowns to reunite with their relatives and friends or traveling for this year's Songkran Festival, mostly from Bangkok, the caretaker government has set up the "Road Safety Directing Centre" and imposed the stricter traffic laws, aimed at curbing road accidents and reducing fatalities. Caretaker Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan presided over the opening of the ad-hoc centre on Friday, designed for drumming up campaigns to reduce road accidents and fatalities during the Songkran, or Water-Splashing, Festival from April 11–17. Besides, concerned officers are helping Songkran celebrants by setting up alcohol-free zones so that they could enjoy water throwing at each other during the annual festival. Meanwhile, Chatchai Phromlert, Director-General of the Ministry of Interior's Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said, in his capacity as the secretary of the "Road Safety Directing Centre", that the centre will announce the number of road accidents and casualties nationwide from April 12-18 on the daily basis and it will also find ways to reduce their numbers. (TNA)