Residents protesting against water projects in two southern provinces vowed Monday to stay in Bangkok until the government cancels the projects.
Around 100 people from Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung provinces protested in front of Government House.
They had originally set up camp around the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives on Ratchadamnoen Road on Friday but on Monday moved their tents and belongings closer to the seat of government after unsuccessful talks with the Royal Irrigation Department (RID).
"The RID has not listened to our voices, so we need to move to Government House and talk to the prime minister directly. We will stay here until we receive a positive answer from the government," said Jakapun Prommongkol, a coordinator of a group calling itself a network protecting the land, water and forests in the two provinces.
The protesters are residents of areas where four separate water projects have been proposed.
In Nakhon Si Thammarat, the Wang Heeb dam in Thung Song district, the Klong Sang reservoir project in Thung Yai district, and a 30-km-water-diversion canal in Amphur Muang Nakhon Si district have all drawn criticism. Meanwhile, in Pak Pra of Phatthalung, the need for a sluice gate has been disputed by the network.
The residents submitted a letter Monday, asking the government to cancel the projects and form a special committee to carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment into each of the proposals.
Some of the projects, according to the network, were drawn up decades ago and are no longer necessary.
Of the four projects, the most contentious is Wang Heeb dam. The provincial administration last week pressed charges against two protestors who set up a checkpoint preventing anyone from entering the site.
The 2.3-billion-baht dam was finally approved by the cabinet last December. However, protesters say the project will destroy 800 rai of prime forest in Nam Tok Yong National Park and mean the expropriation of 100 houses.
Suchart Rodkham, a 60-year-old resident of Nakhon Si Thammarat, said the 30km-water-diversion canal is unwanted by the community.
He said it is "not fair to residents in the village" that the new canal being created to divert floodwater from the city will mean their eviction.
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