Junta soldiers

Junta soldiers: some construction have begun at the Salween dam site

Reporter: Saeng Khao Haeng

Some soldiers recently told S.H.A.N.'s source construction of a sort had started since the end of the monsoons near the projected dam site of the Salween. 

Soldiers who were hitching a ride from the Tasang bridge, between Shan State's Mongpan and Mongton townships, to Monton said concrete posts were being erected at Tangseng, between Palao (the dam site) and the Tasang Bridge. According to the soldiers, the structure, after completion, would be able to sustain 5,000 tons of water. 

The laborers were villagers from the surrounding area, they said, receiving K. 500 each per day from the Burmese engineering unit. 

"Actually, we were willing to work that for wage, but our superiors said 'No, it's too dangerous.'" 

Unconfirmed reports said one of the holes dug along the western bank collapsed some time in October killing several workers. The soldiers, however, neither rejected nor admitted it. 

The platoons from the 4 battalions in Mongton, namely : IB 65, IB 225, IB 227 and LIB 519, are on rotation for security against possible attacks from the Shan State Army, whose 727th Brigade is active around here, one of the soldiers said. 

According to the GMS Power from Bangkok, the purpose of the present undertaking is to work out a conceptual design for the dam. 

The World Commission on Dams (WCD) released a report on a 2-year study on 16 November. The WCD demands a moratorium on large dams construction in east and southeast Asia unit its recommendations have been implemented by dam building agencies. The project was backed by the World Bank.