Power
supply 'may be hit'
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Villagers
protesting against the Pak Mool Dam lower a volunteer on a rope above a
'no dams' banner behind the water gate yesterday. The protester had
planned to read a statement criticising the government while dangling
above the water level but he became dizzy and blacked out. Fellow
protesters hauled the groggy man back to safety. The villagers, mainly
from fishing communities, say the dam is damaging their livelihood.
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THE protest at Pak Mool Dam
in Ubon Ratchathani could lead to flooding and power shortages in the province
and four other northeastern provinces, the Electricity Generating Authority of
Thailand (Egat) said yesterday.
The four other provinces
that could experience power shortages are Si Sa Ket, Yasothon, Amnart Charoen
and Mukdahan, Egat's public relations director Amnart Chotechuang said.
Khon Kaen province might
also be affected, said Ravee Jirasathit, deputy director of Egat's northeastern
operations. Power supply from the dam accounts for five per cent of the
province's demand, Ravee said.
Amnart said the last two of
the dam's four generators stopped working at about 5 pm yesterday due to lack of
maintenance. The protesters have denied Egat technicians access to the
generators.
Ubon Ratchathani, which is
at the end of the power line, would be the worst-hit province, he said. A brief
power failure had occurred in some parts of the province on Tuesday evening, he
said.
"Another cause for
concern is the rising level of water in the Pak Mool Dam after rainfall over the
past days coupled with water released from the Rasi Salai Dam. The Mool River
may overflow and could flood Ubon Ratchathani town," Amnart said.
Suvit Pumwiangsri, chief
electrician at Pak Mool Dam, said yesterday that the water level in the dam
reservoir is currently just two metres below its maximum holding capacity of 180
metres above sea level.
Three of five water gates
have been locked due to mechanical failure and protesters have denied Egat's
maintenance team access to the other two, he said.
Suvit said plantation areas
below the dam would be severely affected if a large amount of water was released
in order to prevent damage to the dam.
Villagers affected by the
Pak Mool Dam and those affiliated with the Assembly of the Poor have refused to
budge since taking control of the dam's power plant on May 15. They are
demanding that the government instruct Egat, which oversees the dam, to open all
of the dam's water gates in order to allow fish to migrate upriver and spawn.
The villagers, most of whom
are from fishing communities, claim that the dam, which was completed in 1994,
has damaged their livelihood by drastically reducing the number of fish in the
Mool River.
The dam blocks the migration
of fish from the Mekong River who feed and spawn in the Mool, they say.
About 1,000 protesters
remained at Pak Mool Dam yesterday. They issued a statement in response to the
authorities' warning that their protest could lead to power failures and
flooding.
Egat's warning was aimed at
discrediting the protesters and pitching them against other groups of people,
they said.
A large banner with the
message "No Dams" was hung from a water gate.
A stunt by a young protester
nearly led to tragedy yesterday afternoon.
Prayoon Kiatchart was tied
to a rope and lowered from the top of a water gate. He intended to read a
statement denouncing the dam but appeared to suffer from dizziness after
dangling and turning about 10 metres above the water.
Other protesters pulled him
up and the stunt was abruptly called off.
Ubon Ratchathani deputy
governor Prapas Boonyindee told The Nation yesterday that he had issued a third
warning about possible negative effects from the ongoing protest at Pak Mool
Dam, including flooding and power failure in some areas.
He said reduced electrical
power would result in damage to electrical appliances, such as refrigerators.
The warning was not aimed at
discrediting the protesters, he said, rejecting a claim by the protesters that
he was harassing them.
In Khon Kaen, about 20
representatives of non-governmental organisations in the Northeast yesterday
handed Egat's Ravee an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai,
Egat's governor and Ubon Ratchathani's governor, calling for authorities to
refrain from using force against the protesters.
The group also called on
Ubon Ratchathani authorities to stop what it called an attempt to invent a
pretext for the use of force, such as a warning that the prolonged protest could
lead to widespread electrical failures.
BY ANAN PAENGNOY and
PHONGSAK BAI-NGERN
The Nation
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