Fuel shortages disrupt Thailand’s sacred Buddhist funeral rites
The Straits Times
Roughly 10 per cent of gas stations had shut down due to shortages, according to a survey. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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BANGKOK - Worsening fuel shortages resulting from the war in the Middle East are threatening sacred funeral ceremonies in Thailand, where Buddhist temples are scrambling to obtain diesel for cremations.
The abbot of Wat Saman Rattanaram in Chachoengsao province, about 80km east of Bangkok, warned that a suspension of cremation services is a real possibility.
Some gas stations have run out of fuel, while others only allow sales to vehicle operators.
“In more than 50 years, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Phra Ratchwachiraprachanart, the temple’s abbot and ecclesiastical provincial governor, said in a phone interview on March 17.
“It’s not just us. Many temples are facing this same problem.”
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