Ayutthaya: More than 500 residents of tambon Ban Mai in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district are protesting a 17.6-billion-baht plan to build a new dam and canal system in the province.
Better known as the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya dam, the project is undergoing an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study, according to a petition submitted to the Ayutthaya branch office of the Interior Ministry's Damrongdhama Centre on Wednesday.
It was signed by affected local villagers.
The petition was submitted by a group of residents led by Thani Phromchan, the kamnan of tambon Ban Mai.
The construction of the dam alone is estimated at 2.3 billion baht, while building the whole project, including the Bang Ban-Bang Sai diversion canal, would cost 17.6 billion baht, the petition claimed.
The scheme is normally referred to as Chao Phraya 2.
A consultant has been hired for the EIA process, scheduled to end on April 17. It covers three villages in tambon Ban Mai, the petitioners said.
Despite the fact that as many as 567 people from 158 families in these villages would be affected by the water management project, they were given only unclear and partial information, according to the petition.
Without proper information, local people are now concerned about possible land expropriation and negative effects from the project's construction.
Residents are far from convinced the water management project will work in terms of flood prevention, its principal objective. They have blasted the project as a waste of money.
The Damrongdhamma Centre said on Wednesday it would forward the petition to the Royal Irrigation Department, which is in charge of the project, so it could take the views of local people into account when deciding on the project's ultimate fate.
