The 42 houses that still stand at the historic Mahakan Fort community will be knocked down if City Hall has its way, despite continued passionate protests from the occupants of the area, historians and preservation groups.
The city’s Deputy Clerk Jaroon Meethanataworn announced that on March 6 the city will tear down 37 historic homes and five more that were knocked down once and have since been rebuilt.
This announcement came Monday at a demolition planning meeting. The clerk claimed that the homes encroach on public land, reported Bangkok Post.
Previously, the Bangkok Metropolitan Association (BMA) said that the residents were illegally occupying the 5-rai plot and have been trying to evict them for more than a year.
The goal of removing the remaining residents is to place a public park on the land, which officials say will make the area more attractive to tourists. Many of the homes at the fort were built as long ago as the beginning of Rattanakosin era and many of those that live there are third generation fort-dwellers.
If the plan goes as the city wants, officials from the military, police and city will join forces to demolish the homes and complete the razing by the end of April.
Jaroon has said that 30 of 42 fort homeowners willingly sold their homes to the BMA.
Apparently, the city is still trying to reach an amicable agreement with those still living inside. Those residents, on the other hand, are still protesting the destruction of their homes.
Check out our feature on the people who have called the fort home here.
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