A conflict over the right to organise the annual Khao Khitchakut Praputthabut worship festival in Chanthaburi has ended amicably after a panel of monks and protesting residents patched up their differences over 30-million-baht in festival revenues.
Angry residents dump soil on a route leading to Khao Khitchakut in Chanthaburi in a protest against a panel of monks organising an annual worship festival for not allowing them to take part in the festivities on Wednesday. The two sides later settled their conflict. (Bangkok Post file photo)
The panel of monks organising the festival and representatives of the temple committee from Wat Krathing were invited in for talks late Wednesday night to settle the conflict, Chanthaburi governor Samart Loyfa said on Thursday.
The talks, held in the presence of the governor, Chanthaburi provincial police chief Pol Maj Gen Charan Jitjuejun and senior monks, followed a road blockade by local residents and temple committee members of Wat Krathing on Tuesday.
The protesters, numbering at least 100, 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 people arriving from other provinces to worship at the holy site unprepared.
The dispute is between Wat Pluang monastic committee members and a panel of monks from Wat Krathing, the festival's organisers.
The temple committee members were upset after the monks refused to let them take part in festivities and they questioned the monks over 30 million baht in revenue from organising the festival over the past two years.
The road blockage prompted provincial authorities to intervene by calling the two conflicting sides for talks.
The agreement was reached and announced after the talks, which last more than 2 hours, said Mr Samart. The protesters agreed to end their blockade following a clear explanation from the panel of monks.
The monks explained that some of the 30 million baht from the festival had been kept for Wat Krathing to finance the construction of mondop, a monastery hall for the late abbot of Wat Krathing Phra Khru Thammasorakhun, widely known as Luang Por Khian Khanthasaro.
The monks would transfer the money to Wat Krathing after the tremple submitted a design plan for the hall.
Mr Samart urged people and tourists to go ahead and worship at the sacred Buddha footprint replica on Khao Khitchakut as the conflict has been settled.
A source said the conflict over the right to organise the festival erupted after the death of the former abott 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 claimed the new abbot was attempting to break away from the annual tradition of the organising of the festival by a monastic committee of monks from nearby temples.