Elderly Queue From Dawn for Thai Help Plus Program, Bringing Packed Meals as They Wait, Worried About Running Out of Slots
Elderly residents in Nakhon Ratchasima queue before dawn at a bank branch to register for the Thai Help Plus program, with many bringing packed meals as they wait, worried slots will fill before they complete registration.
At Krung Thai Bank's Dan Khun Thod branch in Nakhon Ratchasima, residents continue to queue for Thai Help Plus program registration. Today's queue is dominated by elderly citizens seeking assistance with various issues including new phone numbers, lost SIM cards, forgotten passwords, difficulty using the Pao Tang app, and facial recognition failures that prevented them from registering over the past two days. Samak, 70, said he left home at 5:00 AM and arrived at the bank at 6:30 AM for his first attempt, accompanied by his daughter who brought breakfast to eat while waiting. Another elderly woman, 76, departed at 5:30 AM and arrived at 6:00 AM, having unsuccessfully queued the previous day when slots filled up before her turn; she secured position 81 in today's queue and expressed great relief. Meanwhile, Lalitsuda, 22, a sales employee at Cheer Mobile directly across from the bank, reported that the Thai Help Plus program has brought multiple customers to purchase smartphones, significantly boosting sales. Most customers buy basic smartphones priced between 2,000-3,000 baht and SIM cards compatible with the Pao Tang app update.
