Conflict between two temples over the right to organise a festival in Chanthaburi celebrating the worship of a sacred Buddha footprint replica reached new heights on Tuesday after locals used soil to block the entrance to the mountain.
Residents deploy an excavator to erect a mound of soil to block off the area where people worship a replica of the sacred Buddha footprint on Khao Khitchakut in Chanthaburi. Tairong Mithapthim
At least 100 worshippers and temple committee members of Wat Krathing on Tuesday used excavators to dump soil on a section of the Ban Pluang route — the road to Khao Khitchakut, where the annual prayer festival is being held.
The blockade caught offguard those arriving from other provinces to worship at the holy site.
Many had no choice but to wait nearby.
The dispute is between Wat Pluang monastic committee members and a panel of monks from Wat Krathing, the festival's organisers.
The committee members were upset after the monks refused to let them take part in festivities.
Pensri Charuwuttanapan, 56, a worshipper from Ratchaburi, said this was the 28th time she had come to worship the Buddha footprint replica.
She and her friends rented several vans to make the journey, but some had returned home because they were uncertain about the situation.
"We are confused by the blockade. We will try to find ways to get to the venue because we are determined to worship. We hope they settle the row soon," Ms Pensri said.
Chanthaburi governor Samart Loyfa said yesterday the blockade had occurred during a meeting he had organised to solve the row between the two temples.
Deputy Chanthaburi governor Klanarong Pongcharoen and provincial police chief Charan Jitjuekul were assigned to host talks with representatives from the temples.
A source said the conflict over the right to organise the festival erupted after the death of Phra Khru Thammasorakhun, the former abbot of Wat Krathing.
The new abbot, Phra Khru Wirotthammanukul, claimed the temple had the sole right to organise the festival.
However, monks from Wat Pluang and surrounding temples claimed the new abbot was attempting to break away from the annual tradition of organising the festival by a monastic committee of nine temples.
The festival is one of Chanthaburi's most-visited events and sees tens of thousands of Thai and foreign Buddhists climb Khao Khitchakut to worship the footprint.
The blockade was still in place yesterday with little sign of progress in attempts to ease the dispute.