Many storm-damaged pagodas and temples yet to be repaired in Arakan State

By Admin 22 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
22 October 2023, Sittwe
 
Well-known pagodas and temples damaged by Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State reportedly remain in disrepair due to financial constraints.
 
Even some pagodas and temples that are frequently visited by pilgrims in Pauktaw, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun and Kyauktaw townships still can’t be repaired more than five months after the cyclone struck, according to the pagodas’ boards of trustees.
 
“There will be more pilgrims during Thadingyut, and pagodas have not yet been repaired. We don’t have enough funds. Some cracks appeared in the Sandawshin Pagoda [due to the storm],” said joint secretary U Hla Shwe of the Sandawshin Pagoda board of trustees.
 
Approximately 200 million kyats is needed to repair damaged religious buildings including Sandawshin Pagoda, but the pagoda board of trustees only has 20 million kyats to spend, said U Hla Shwe.
 
The pagoda’s board of trustees has reported to military authorities about the damages to Sandawshin Pagoda and affiliated religious buildings. There has as yet been no response from the regime.
 
Religious buildings at the Buddha Pada Kyetawyar Pagoda on Moese Island in Rathedaung Township were also damaged by the storm, and have not yet been repaired.
 
“My monastery was destroyed. Some [religious buildings] were repaired with donations from Alodawpyae Sayadaw from Sittwe,” said Sayadaw U Agga of the Alodawpyae Monastery at Buddha Pada Kyetawyar Pagoda.
 
Religious buildings, stairways, and roads toward the pagoda were damaged by the storm, with the total damages estimated at  2 billion kyats and the pagoda board of trustees saying it is still facing a shortfall of about 1 billion kyats to make the repairs needed.
 
The regime has provided around 300 roofing sheets and two tonnes of teak wood for repair of the damaged religious buildings at the Buddha Pada Kyetawyar Pagoda.
 
“We will soon be visiting pagodas as the dry season is around the corner. If there are no trees and buildings for visitors to take a rest, it is not OK for them,” said Ma Soe Yu Nwe from Sittwe, referring also to the loss of many shade trees blown down in the storm.
 
As Myanmar’s people have grappled with the effects of armed conflicts, soaring food prices and sharp increases in other costs of living, they are making fewer donations to pagodas.
 
Religious buildings at Uriztaw Pagoda and Guwa Pagoda in Ponnagyun Township are also yet to be repaired.
 
“People are having financial hardship. So, we don’t solicit donations by going around the town,” said U San Hla, a pagoda board of trustees member in Ponnagyun. “We only stay at the pagoda. People can’t donate much. So, we can’t repair those religious buildings.”
 
The financial damages at the Guwa Pagoda totalled 180 million kyats, and around 250 million kyats is needed to repair the Uriztaw Pagoda.
 
The regime said it would provide support for the repair of damaged pagodas as a priority, but has provided little assistance to date, according to the pagoda boards of trustees.
 
More than 1.1 million people were affected and over 24,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed by Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State, according to the state military council.