Fuel scare affects even the dead

A major temple in northeastern Thailand has suspended its cremation service after service stations refused to sell fuel in containers, preventing the temple from stockpiling the amount needed to operate its crematorium.

The restriction on filling containers was introduced under a set of emergency measures imposed amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.

Maha That Temple in Nakhon Phanom announced on its Facebook page that its crematorium will be temporarily closed until the situation improves, although funeral prayers for the deceased will continue as normal.

The temple’s deputy abbot said the announcement was made after petrol stations in the area refused to sell fuel in containers, meaning the temple could not purchase and store enough to operate the crematorium.

According to the deputy abbot, the temple’s crematorium is an environmentally friendly system that uses a combination of fuel and electricity. Each cremation requires about 90 litres of fuel, costing around 3,000 baht.

Under normal circumstances, the temple keeps a reserve of about 100 litres of oil for the crematorium, but current measures limit fuel purchases to about 500 baht per transaction and prohibit customers from filling containers.

“If several bodies arrive, we simply won’t have enough fuel,” the deputy abbot said, adding that sending several people to buy small amounts of fuel separately would be impractical, especially as filling containers is not allowed.

The temple averages over 10 cremations each month, many of them free of charge as part of its charity work.

The deputy abbot called on relevant authorities to help coordinate a solution, suggesting that the temple be allowed to purchase around 90 litres of fuel per cremation to maintain its service for the community.