
A Stressed 72-year-old grandmother climbs tamarind tree to protest the abbot. Stress, as the construction of the temple has caused cracks to her home.

Mrs. Prayad Sooksawang, or Grandma Moo, aged 72 years old, was feeling highly stressed as she was afraid of her house collapsing, and climb a tamarind tree in protest. The incident happened after the abbot, Phra Udom of Wat Pak Khlong, instructed contractors came to fill the soil around the house last week which resulted in cracks appearing throughout the whole house. It also resulted occasional cracking sound of the walls of the house. This incident was caused by the compressive strength of the soil around the house. The abbot was informed of the damages, but no remedial actions were taken. The damages caused great stress to Grandma Moo in which she did not dare to enter into her own home for fear that the house would collapse.
In the latest development on 25 March, 2021, Grandma Moo disclosed that, “right now, I’m feeling very distressed. I don’t dare to sleep in my house because I’m afraid that it would collapse. Yesterday, I reached the end of my patience, and therefore, climbed up a tamarind tree to demand for justice. Previously, I had already informed the abbot about the cracks after the surrounding area was filled with soil. The abbot had promised to fix it, but so far, no action or assistance has been provided. I just wanted to get confirmation and a clear solution on how the abbot was going to fix the problem. He shouldn’t just keep quiet like this”.
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“The land actually belongs to the temple which is under the supervision of Wat Pak Khlong and Phra Udom. With an area of approximately 5-6 Rai where it fronts the Chao Phraya River on one side, and also adjacent to the Khlong Bang Phum canal. There are a total of 6 houses in which all of them are related, including Grandma Moo’s house. The occupants have all lived here since their ancestors without any problems. Previously, the temple had hired a lawyer to evict them, but a mediation process finalized that the villagers would have to pay a rent of 1,500 baht per month. However, the villagers requested to negotiate the rent to only 1,000 baht per month. The villagers have started to pay the rent since September 2020”. Ms. Suphaporn Klunkoom, Grandma Moo’s daughter-in-law added.
Mrs. Bubpha Khumrit, sister of Grandma Moo also added that, “this land has been inhabited for hundreds of years which can be verified by the portraits of our ancestors who have previously lived here even before the abbot moved here. Today, the villages are still in debt from the 100,000 baht that the abbot has stipulated that the villagers pay for the lawyer fees instead. If the abbot do not want the villagers to stay on this land, he should come out and negotiate properly. Additionally, if the abbot can also provide demolition fees, the villagers are willing to leave the area”.
However, when there was the incident where Grandma Moo climbed the tamarind tree in protest, the abbot has since instructed the contractor to dig some of the soil around the problematic house so as not to let the soil lean on the walls of the house. But in the matter of the cracks and damages to the house, it has not been solved yet. When a news team tried to interview the abbot about the facts, they were rejected on the grounds that the abbot will provide clarification only in the presence of the police and representatives from the National Office of Buddhism. In addition, the abbot also prohibited any type of recording by the press.
Source:
- The stressed grandmother who climbed a tamarind tree complaining that the soil filling of temple’s construction has resulted in cracks to her home. She urges the abbot to be responsible for the damages. | PPTV HD 36 | LINE TODAY