PAK MOON

Villagers demand dam stay closed

Nila Singkhiri

Ubon Ratchathani - About 3,000 villagers rallied at the provincial hall yesterday demanding the Council for National Security revoke the Thaksin Shinawatra cabinet's decision to open the Pak Moon dam's sluice gates for four months of each year.

They said the resolution had done more harm than good to their fishing and farming activities.

The Thaksin cabinet in 2003 ordered the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to open the dam's eight gates from May to August to allow fish to swim from the Mekong river to spawn, as requested by the Assembly of the Poor. This year, Egat will have to open the gates on May 1.

But protesters from Phibun Mangsahan, Sirindhorn and Khong Chiam districts, yesterday said opening the gates had impacted on the peak fishing season for giant freshwater prawns and worsened water shortages. They demanded the gates be closed all year round.

Their request was lodged with Gen Surin Pikulthong, who chairs the CNS special panel on resources and the environment.

Sompan Kuendee, of the Assembly of the Poor from Khong Chiam district, said the fish population rose drastically during the dam's four-month opening. The protesters were exaggerating the water shortage situation.

Bangkok Post

Friday April 06, 2007