No sign of dam on the Salween

Refugees who had rafted down the Salween before arriving in Chiangmai's Fang District told S.H.A.N. yesterday they saw nothing to suggest that the construction of the planned megadam had started, although an agreement was signed between Rangoon and Thailand's MDX Group on 20 December 2002. 

"We stopped over at Palao near the damsite on 7 February," recalled Hsang Aw, from Kunhing, 130 miles east of Taunggyi. "There were about 6-8 Burmese civilians, apart from the native villagers. As for the Army, it was nowhere around." 

Hsang Aw, who was familiar with the dam project, said a road from the Tasarng Bridge to Palao had already been completed and the bulldozers and tractors were continuing their way further north, probably to the remaining teak forests. The area to the south has already been denuded of timber. 

The Thais, he was told, were billeted at Sala, a village south of Palao. They were believed to be workers from Thai Sawad, a Thai company registered in Burma, that had a contract with MDX to build and maintain the Tarsarng-Palao road. 

There were 63 refugees in the group. Few of them could however add further details except to concur with what he said.