Villagers
continue river reclamation
Bid
to divert water back to its old course
Bangkok Post, June 1, 2000
Anchalee Kongrut
Rasi
Salai dam opponents continued removing stones from the base of a road
running from the dam yesterday in a symbolic take-back of the dam.
The protesting villagers,
backed by the Assembly of the Poor, said they did not intend to damage the
dam, but wanted to tunnel through the two-lane road to reclaim the Moon
river.
They said the road was built
over the old course of the river which was diverted to flow through the
dam spillways since 1993.
"The road and the dam
have changed the Moon river channel. The tunnelling would return the river
to its old course. Nature would be restored to the Moon river," said
Chalermchai Champhapan, 35, of Ban Phung, tambon Nong Khae.
About 500 villagers have been
taking turns to remove stones using ploughs and other tools since Tuesday.
The real digging is scheduled
for this Saturday with Brahmin rites to tell Mother Earth and Mother River
about the diverting of the river back to its previous course.
The villagers have set no
deadline for completing the tunnelling through the road which is almost
20m wide. About 200 opponents of Hua Na dam were expected to join the Rasi
Salai protesters this weekend. They have been camping out in front of Si
Sa Ket's provincial hall since April 16.
The Hua Na dam was developed
by the Department of Energy Development and Promotion (DEDP), which also
built the Rasi Salai dam.
But Hua Na has 14 spillways
compared to seven at Rasi Salai and eight at the Pak Moon dam which was
built by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.
The Hua Na dam was completed
last year but has not yet started operating because of the ongoing
protest.
The protesters said they were
against the Hua Na dam because it was built without an environmental
impact assessment study (EIA).
They remained unconvinced by
official promises that their farmland would not be inundated.
DEDP officials who met the
protesters on May 1 did not have a map showing the water level and the
area to be submerged once the reservoir started collecting water, said
Sujin Jitasila, 31, a villager from tambon Muang Khong in Rasi Salai.
Villagers
said they wanted the EIA to assure them they would not face flooding or
salinity problems which had plagued those living around the Rasi Salai dam
for more than five years.
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