Fuel shortages disrupt Thailand’s sacred Buddhist funeral rites

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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 petrol 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,” the temple’s abbot and ecclesiastical provincial governor Phra Ratchwachiraprachanart said in a phone interview on March 17.

“It’s not just us. Many temples are facing this same problem.”

In Thai Buddhist custom, cremation typically follows several nights of chanting by monks.

Many crematoria use diesel in their furnaces, which are connected to tall chimneys that release smoke in a ritual believed to help guide spirits to heaven.

The threat to funeral services underscores the growing severity of fuel shortages in Thailand and neighbouring countries in South-east Asia.

The region is heavily dependent on oil imports from the Middle East, where the US and Israeli war against Iran has severely disrupted shipments.

Wat Saman Rattanaram, known for a giant statue of Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu god, has about 200 litres of diesel left, enough to carry out only two cremations, roughly its weekly average, the abbot said.

Similar reports have emerged from temples across Thailand, from Nakhon Phanom in the north-east to facilities near Bangkok that provide free cremation services.

In countries where cremation is common, including India, some temples have already been forced to suspend services due to fuel shortages.

Temples host most cremations in the majority-Buddhist Thailand, but rising concerns about fuel availability and prices have triggered long lines at petrol stations.

Many outlets have imposed purchase limits to prevent hoarding and panic buying.

The Thai authorities insist the country has enough supplies to cover about three months of demand, but scenes of rationing and shortages suggest a nation already feeling the strain of disruptions tied to the conflict in the Middle East.

According to an Energy Ministry survey of about 1,500 petrol stations conducted on March 15 to 16, roughly 10 per cent had shut down due to shortages, while nearly 70 per cent reported running low on or out of certain fuels. BLOOMBERG