Drought reveals lost temple in Thailand submerged by dam

[webfact]

Drought reveals lost temple in Thailand submerged by dam

By Prapan Chankaew

 

A family prays near the ruins of a headless Buddha statue, which has resurfaced in a dried-up dam due to drought, in Lopburi, Thailand August 1, 2019. Picture taken August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

 

LOPBURI, Thailand (Reuters) - Thousands are flocking to see a Buddhist temple in central Thailand exposed after drought drove water levels to record lows in a dam reservoir where it had been submerged.

 

As the reservoir reaches less than 3% of capacity, the remains of Wat Nong Bua Yai, a modern temple submerged during construction of the dam 20 years ago, have became visible in the middle of dry ground.

 

People walk through the ruins of a Buddhist temple, which has resurfaced in a dried-up dam due to drought, in Lopburi, Thailand August 1, 2019. Picture taken August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

 

Some Buddhist monks were among the hundreds of people who walked through broken temple structures on cracked earth littered with dead fish last week to pay respects to a headless 4-metre (13-feet) -tall Buddha statue, adorning it with flowers.

 

"The temple is normally covered by water. In the rainy season you don't see anything," said one of the visitors, Somchai Ornchawiang, a 67-year-old retired teacher.

 

He regretted the temple flooding but is now worried about the damage the drought is causing to farmland, he added.

 

The dam, with capacity of 960 million cubic meters, normally irrigates more than 1.3 million acres (526,000 hectares)of farmland in four provinces, but drought has cut that to just 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) in the single province of Lopburi.

 

The meteorological department says Thailand is facing its worst drought in a decade, with water levels in dams nationwide having fallen far short of the monthly average.

 

Yotin Lopnikorn, 38, headman of the Nong Bua village that used to be near the temple, recalls visiting it with friends as a child, before dam construction forced the villagers out.

 

"When I was young, I always came to meet friends at the elephant sculptures in front of the main building to play there," Yotin said.

 

At the time, the temple was the centre of the community, used to conduct rituals, festivities and educational activities, besides functioning as a playground and recreational area.

 

Next to the temple compound are the remains of 700 households of the village.

 

The ruins have reappeared before, after a drought in 2015.

 

"This is the second time I have seen this temple in this condition," said Yotin. "Now I think we need to save this place."

 

(Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Karishma Singh and Clarence Fernandez)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-06

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[Phuketshrew]

A revered Buddhist statue simply left to drown and decay. What an outrage.

signed: Netty Zen

[Geoffggi]

How can this be a LOST temple..? the authorities knew exactly where it was - submerged..!!!

[owl sees all]

Praying to a piece of reinforced concrete. Headless too.

 

Next lottery day a fair way off. Hope the wife doesn't get to hear of this.

 

More concerned with the ruins than the reason they have emerged. Dear me; LOS.

 

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

This is the second time I have seen this temple in this condition," said Yotin. "Now I think we need to save this place."

Relocate rubble... yeah Okay.

[tifino]

I'd have thought their 1st concern would be to get in quicker than others ..for the sunken bullion! 

Using circa 1853 era ballarat gold sifting pans for grabbing the goldflakes 

[klauskunkel]

looking for lottery numbers 

[Benmart]

Lost? Hardly. It is now an opportunity for pilgrims to pray there and sadly, for the greedy to profit from it.

[owl sees all]

3 hours ago, tifino said:

I'd have thought their 1st concern would be to get in quicker than others ..for the sunken bullion! 

Using circa 1853 era ballarat gold sifting pans for grabbing the goldflakes 

Are you talking about the gold paint that used to adorn the headless concrete buddha? Or is there undiscovered hidden treasure in the lake bottom? 

 

If the Thais thought that there was gold they would be there in the dozens, maybe hundreds. The wife would already have gone. What more could a Thai lady wish for; lottery numbers and gold.

[timendres]

It is kinda cool that is just appears sometimes. They should leave it that way. Gives it an air of mystery.

[kickstart]

What they have not said is the other temple now showing ,Wat Manow whun, this often appears during drought ,this year even more so .

In a past life, I use to work in this area ,before the dam was made ,never heard of any gold ,very old wives tails.

[gk10002000]

that one fellow had photos of the staircase before submerged.