Plodprasop defiant on Mae Wong dam

Plodprasop defiant on Mae Wong dam

Construction of the Mae Wong Dam in Nakhon Sawan province will go ahead and will be completed despite opposition from conservation groups and local people, Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi said on Monday.

He said the Royal Irrigation Department had carried completed the environmental impact assessment and the environmental health impact assessment, with an emphasis on irrigation at the site.

Mr Plodprasop said he would make sure that the project proceeds with the emphasis on flood prevention and drainage systems for the area. Work would be carried out with an allocation from the 350 billion baht water management fund, he added.

On Sunday, hundreds of supporters of the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation's campaign against the construction of the Mae Wong Dam completed their 388 kilometre protest march to Bangkok, moving from Kasetsart University to the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Centre. 

They argue construction of the dam would be disastrous to the local environment, to wildlife consewrvation and  to the lives those affected by it.

In an interview on a radio programme on Monday morning, Mr Plodprasop said this year's rains had come one and a half months late, and the volume of water in all dams was about half as much as there was last year at the same time.

He said a repeat of the disastrous floods of 2011 is unlikely. In 2011, 30,000 million cubic metres of run-off from ran in the North swamped the Central provinces, including Bangkok, shutting down industry.

Estimates suggest this year's northern run-off will be around 15,000 million cubic metres, so any floodsing will be less serious than in 2011, Mr Plodprasop said.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (8)