After going non-stop for almost two years, a Pattaya temple’s crematorium has broken down and the monks are going broke providing free funerals.
Abbot Teerapong Teerawasu Bhikkhu of Wat Khao Pho Thong in Nongprue said the pandemic has stretched the limits of the charity the temple can give. During the coronavirus crisis, the temple has provided free funerals, but the excessive precautions hospitals and mortuaries took with the bodies actually have damaged the crematorium furnace.
Corpses of Covid-19 victims in Thailand are wrapped in three layers of plastic, which holds in gases as the body decays and melts in the furnace, instead of turning to ash like a wooden coffin and clothing. The precautions are made despite widespread evidence that Covid-19 cannot be spread by corpses.
The exploding bodies have damaged the furnace’s burner heads. After the first time the furnace broke down, the public donated 100,000 baht for repairs, but it still isn’t operating normally. It now takes two hours to cremate a Covid-19 victim versus a normal 45-60 minutes, the abbot said. The furnace also smokes and smells now, Abbot Teerapong added.
A technician was scheduled to work on the crematorium this week, but it’s likely the two burner heads need replaced. Each is imported from Italy and costs up to 600,000 baht, the abbot said.
The temple is out of money, however. Instead of charging people thousands of baht for the dozens of liters of fuel and undertaker services, the temple has been giving people free funerals.
The abbot is now forced to start seeking donations. Abbot Teerapong said the fundraising will continue until the crematorium is fixed and the fuel fund refilled.
Anyone wishing to donate can do so at Krungthai Bank account number 982-974-6097 (Pra Kru Palad Teerapong Teerawasu Bhikkhu). For more information or any questions, call 092-828-0400.
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