More than 300 people marched on Wednesday to Nakhon Si Thammarat City Hall to demand that the provincial authority preserve the ancient pagoda of the Mahathat Woramahawiharn Temple.
The pagoda is considered one of the best places to consecrate Jatukam Ramathep amulets, as it is said to house Buddha relics.
Locals have complained that the pagoda has started to lean as a result of vehicles arriving at the temple each day with the amulets.
"We have to protect the heritage our ancestors built for us," protest leader Paitoon Intasila said yesterday.
Wichit Chartpaisit, the deputy governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat, met the protesters and explained that the provincial government was tackling the problem.
Meanwhile, Fine Arts Department directorgeneral Arak Sunghitakul yesterday called on the abbot of Mahathat Woramahawiharn Temple to stop allowing trucks near the pagoda.
"Vibration could cause more damage to the pagoda," he said.
However, he said that the pagoda had been leaning since the last time his department inspected the site.
"But we are going to check whether it has leaned further. If so, we have to reinforce the base of the pagoda because its foundation was built on soft soil," Arak said.
Fine Arts Department deputy directorgeneral Khemachat Thepachai said engineers from the Asian Institute of Technology would urgently inspect the pagoda.
"Then, we will be able to compare the latest inspection findings to the information we gathered in our last inspection," Khemachat said.
Former Nakhon Si Thammarat MP Apichart Sakdiseth urged everyone to help preserve the sacred pagoda. "The provincial government, in particular, should take an active role," he said.
The Nation
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