Last-ditch
attempt to solve crisis
Meeting
with Banyat to get spillways open
Ploenpote Atthakor, Bangkok
Post, June 19, 2000
A committee to solve problems associated with the Pak Moon Dam is seeking a
meeting with Interior Minister Banyat Bantadtan today to formally submit a
resolution on the controversial dam, in a last-ditch effort to press for
the opening of the dam's spillways until the end of August.
The committee, chaired by
respected scholar Banthorn On-dam, concluded in its findings last week
that opening the dam's sluice gates would help the Moon river's ecology,
seriously damaged by the dam construction, to return to its original
state.
The committee, which was
appointed by the interior minister, also found that opening the dam's
floodgates would not have an adverse impact on fisheries in the province
as well as electricity generation in the Northeast as being claimed by the
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), the dam builder.
However, Mr Banyat has been
very reluctant to follow the committee's advice, opting instead for the
establishment of another committee to conduct a study on the opening of
spillways. The move has certainly puzzled Mr Banthorn's team.
A committee member said:
"We have gone beyond the point whether the dam should be opened. It
seems the government just wants to buy time," he said on condition of
anonymity.
He said his committee will
also forward the rationale behind the resolution to Mr Banyat for
consideration. "We want to reiterate our conclusion," he said.
In addition, he said it is viewed that the new committee should be chaired
by a non-partisan scholar, and not a government official, especially the
provincial governor, or it will be rejected by dam opponents. The
government has made it clear it wants the governor to lead the new
committee.
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