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09 June 2002 |
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PAK MOON DAM |
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| Bid to
keep dam gates open |
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Signature campaign against Egat move |
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Fishermen and environmentalists will launch
a sign-up campaign to push for the permanent opening of the Pak Moon dam
to allow fish unhindered access to the once thriving river.
Wanida Tantiwittayapitak, adviser to the Assembly of the Poor, yesterday
said the two-day campaign will begin tomorrow at Kaeng Sapue, a popular
local tourist destination in Phibun Mangsahan district.
The signatures would be forwarded to the government for consideration,
she said. The campaign comes amid a move by the Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand (Egat) to close the sluice gates and operate the
36-megawatt turbines at the dam.
The gates have been opened for one year this month to allow the study of
the river ecology in the government's bid to resolve the conflict over
the dam.
Egat has adamantly claimed the opening meant it was unable to operate
its power generators and forced it to buy hydro-power from Laos. Ms
Wanida argued the dam's power generating capacity was nominal.
She said it has been proved that the opening of the dam gates had
brought prosperity back to the area and benefited local people. ``A
cabinet decision is needed to have the dam's gates remain open,'' she
said, hoping this would happen before Egat went ahead with its move. |
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