Electrical industry of burma/myanmar

Additional references
See below: ‘Improved power supply brings better business climate to most’ (MT: 06/06/11)

‘Additional gas-fired power plants to be built in Yangon’ (MT: 05/12/11)

‘New hydro power plants ease dry season shortages in Yangon’ (MT: 20/12/10)

‘Electricity supply key to Iindustry shift to Myanmar’ (MT: 16/08/10)

‘Power boost for Yangon as rain falls’ (MT: 21/06/10)

‘Coping with unreliable power supply in Burma’s cities’ (IRROL: 22/05/10)

‘Rangoon reels under severe power cuts’ (Mizzima: 02/04/10)

‘Small businesses, factories struggle to keep up with rising fuel prices’ (IRROL: 06/03/08)

‘More gas to be diverted from Yadana for national use’ (MT: 14/01/08)

‘Fisheries factories to get 24-hour power by March’ (MT: 22/10/07)

Hpyo Wai Tha, IRROL, 09/04/12. Edited and condensed. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/2227

Burma’s state-run newspapers belatedly reported on Sunday, April 8, that the electrical power supply for the whole country was being severely rationed starting from April 2. Quoting a statement issued by the country’s EPM-2 the media reported that the blackouts were due to a surge in national power consumption during the summer dry seaon. The state media said that the nation’s current generating capacity of 1,529 megawatts (MW) could not fulfill the demand, which stands at 1,720 MW, and that the rationing measures were “a last resort” to distribute electricity alternately to regions that had been divided into three groups.

The reports claimed that there will be no nighttime power shortage in Rangoon, the country’s largest city with more than 7 million people, but electricity in the rest of the country will be cut. “We will light up the whole of Rangoon every night, starting from this evening [April 6], using reserved electricity,” Kyay Mone quoted Aung Khaing, the president for Rangoon Electricity Supply Board (RESB), as saying. The Burmese state-run daily said the electricity demand for the former capital is currently 800 MW per annum, a 35.5 percent increase over last year, and nearly 50 percent of the nation’s total.
The move was not unexpected though. The RESB announced last month that electricity would soon be rationed, and that the power cuts would last until July. Despite enjoying an almost uninterrupted flow of power for the past year or so, electricity was previously rationed in the main cities to around 12 hours a day during the hot season, from April to July, when air-conditioners are more frequently used.
The severe power cuts come at a time when Burma is the focus of international attention with foreign investors closely watching the country’s ongoing political reforms and unfolding business opportunities. “The power cuts will surely affect the country’s development,” said retired economics professor Maw Than. “No matter how politically stable a country is, a power shortage means it has poor infrastructure. It could repel foreign investment and damage the country’s image.”
In the business hub of Rangoon, many small firms rely on their own generators for electricity, paying more than $5 per gallon for petrol or diesel. “If the electricity is off, I have to use three gallons of diesel every day,” said an Internet café owner as he stood beside his humming 25KW/ 25KVA generator.
“Six hours on, six hours off,” said graphic designer Thuyein. “Naturally, generators are in high demand. But if you want a generator, you have to wait. If you complain about the long waiting list, your order would be ignored. When I ordered one for my office, I was told that it wouldn’t be delivered until the second week of May. I said ‘yes’ for I had no other choice.”
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VILLAGERS PETITION AGAINST DAM CONSTRUCTION ON ANYAPHYA CREEK

Nyein Nyein, Irrawaddy Online,15/03/12. Edited. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23221

More than 2,300 villagers in Anyarphyar have signed a petition against the construction of a hydropower dam on the river outside their village near Dawei in Tenasserim Region. The petition was sent to President Thein Sein on Monday. The villagers claim that the dam will flood fields they use for growing crops. Myint Aung, a committee member of the village administration in Anyarphyar, told The Irrawaddy on that “if the village is inundated, it will never recover.”
The site for the dam project is located some 20 km east of the Dawei Economic Zone and is scheduled to be one of at least two hydropower projects that will provide electricity to the multi-billion-dollar industrial plant and deep-sea port. The project has been contracted to the Delco company, based in Rangoon, which is also involved in tin mining in the area. Construction of the 175-foot-high dam began in November and is scheduled to take three years to complete.
Apart from Anyarphyar, three other villages will be affected by the project: Darthwekyaut, Satechaung and Nyaungchaung. In total, more than 9,000 acres of cultivable land will be lost, say local farmers who mostly grow rubber, betel and cashew nuts. “Our losses will be enormous,” said a farmer who asked not to be identified. “A one-year-old rubber tree is valued at 80,000 kyat [US $100] and can provide latex for more than 30 years.”
The villagers of Anyarphyar have also voiced complaints about the construction of a tunnel by the Myanmar Natural Energy Wave company, which will also destroy land and agriculture. “They just came in and bulldozed about three acres of land,” said Myint Aung. “No representative of the company spoke to us about their plans.”
He said the petition was sent not only to the Burmese president, but to the Myanmar Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of Energy and various political parties, as well as to the Delco Company. When contacted by The Irrawaddy, Delco’s head office in Rangoon declined to comment.
Delco is a private firm invested in tin-tungsten and mixed ore mining in Kanpuak, near Dawei, a project that was initiated in 2007. It received a Build-Operate-Transfer agreement for the hydropower project at Dawei, or Tavoy, in 2010.
[Compiler’s note: According to the news item from NLM (19/01/11) below, a contract for the construction of the Anyarphya hydropower project was signed between the Natural Energy Wave Co and EPM-1 in January 2011. Whether and how the Delco Mining Co, which operates a small tin and tungsten mine in the Kanbauk area of Yebyu township is related to the project is not clear. For information on the origins of the Anyarphya project and technical details relating to it, see the last item below.]
Topographic map reference: Burma 1:250,000: Series U542, U.S. Army Map: ND 47-06: Tavoy

Anyapya creek dam, near Anyapya village [14° 07' N, 98° 19' E], grid square reference: 15\5, 4\2

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/burma/txu-oclc-6924198-nd47-6.jpg
Additional references
Data summary Anyarpya

See below: ‘Residents protest Kawthaung coal-fired power plant’ (Mizzima: 05/03/12)

‘Government cuts coal-fired power plant from Dawei project’ (MT: 16/01/12)

‘4000-megawatt power plant planned for Dawei deep-sea port’ (NLM: 03/11/10)

‘Thai company pursuing big hydropower project in Taninthayi’ (MT: 21/05/07)

Mizzima, 14/03/12. Excerpt. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/6758-push-to-build-big-dams-undermines-peace-process-in-karen-state.html

In February 2012, KNU troops arrested and fined workers of the Chinese-backed “Myanmar Nature Energy Wave,” demanding they stop building the Dah Thway Kyauk dam, which will flood five Karen villages near Dawei in southern Burma. 
Saw Eh Na, Karen News, 26/01/12. Edited and condensed. http://karennews.org/2012/01/dam-to-destroy-karen-villages.html/

Karen people in Theyetchaung Township, Tavoy, in southern Burma, claim they will be forcibly evicted from their homes to make way for the construction of a dam near the village of Htee Ler Klay (also known as Da Thway Kyauk). Residents say that on 18/11/11, a Burmese construction company named, Tha Ba Wa Shwa Ain Lain and its senior staff, came to their village to start work on the dam located on the Te Ler Klay River. Saw Eh Ler, a resident from Htee Ler Klay village, told the Karen News that the company people hadn’t consulted with the local people about the construction of the dam. "We saw them arriving with their machinery and starting to destroy our plantations and betel nut trees – our only source of income.” Villager Naw Paw Lay Lay says the local people do not want a dam “We don’t want our village destroyed, we oppose this project. If we cannot oppose it, at least we should be compensated and paid a fair price for the destruction of our land and plantations. We don’t want the dam to be built.” Saw Eh Ler said it would be difficult for villagers to restart their lives from scratch. “Our entire community will be destroyed by this dam. We will have to start our lives from the beginning. It will be very difficult for all of us. The dam will give all of us a big problem. The [Burma] government and the company are working together, so it is difficult for us to oppose it. We urge non-government groups to hear our voice and come see how bad our situation is.” [A photo of machinery at work at the dam site accompanies the article]

NLM, 19/01/11. Condensed. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/NLM2011-01-19.pdf

The Hydropower Planning Department of EPM-1 signed a contract with the Natural Energy Wave Co Ltd to construct the Anyapya hydropower station under the B.O.T system at Yeywa Hall of the ministry on 17/01/11. The contract was signed by D-G Kyee Soe of the HPD and MD Win Oo of the Natural Energy Wave Co. The Anyapya project is on Anyapya creek in Dawei township. [Compiler’s note: With the announcement in November 2010 that the long-planned Dawei deep-sea port and transportation corridor with Thailand is to proceed, the need for improved power supply in Dawei itself, the nearest urban centre to the proposed seaport, is clearly in evidence. See ELEP031 for details on the project and plans for a 4000-MW coal-fired power plant to supply electricity to the port and related industrial subdivision.]

Weekly Eleven, 19/07/10

http://eversion.elevenmediagroup.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=357%3Amyanmar-private-companies-allowed-for-joint-ventures-in-electricity-mining-sectors&Itemid=111

Permission has been granted to the Delco Company to develop the Anyaphyar hydropower project.

NLM, 07/03/10. http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/NLM2010-03-07.pdf

The Special Projects Implementation Committee held a co-ordination meeting (1/2010) at the Operations Meeting Room of the office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army) in Nay Pyi Daw on 05/03/10. . . . At the meeting, EPM-1 Zaw Min reported that . . . the Ministry of Electric Power No 1 will jointly implement five projects with the investment of local national entrepreneurs. They are: the Upper Biluchaung hydropower project in Shan State South to generate 29 megawatts, the Htakha hydropower project in Kachin State to generate 6 megawatts, the Anyaphya hydropower project in Taninthayi division to generate 9 megawatts, the Yangon coal-fired power plant project in Yangon division to generate 270 megawatts and the Kawthoung coal-fired power plant project in Taninthayi division to generate 6 megawatts.

http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/Mekong/Proceedings/FG7-RPTCC7-Annex3.4-Myanmar-Presentation.pdf

The Anyapya hydropower proposal was mentioned in the country report by Myanmar delegates at an ADB conference in Ho Chin Min city in Vietnam in November 2008.

Study on Introduction of Renewable Energies in Myanma: Volume 1, Nippon Koei, 2003.

http://lvzopac.jica.go.jp/external/library?func=function.opacsch.mmdsp&view=view.opacsch.mmindex&shoshisbt=1&shoshino=0000159771&volno=0000000000&filename=11734092_05.pdf&seqno=5

The Anyaphya hydropower project was first drawn attention to in detail in a report on the use of renewable energy sources as a means of facilitating rural electrification in Myanmar. The study, funded by Japan’s International Co-operation Agency (JICA), was carried out by Nippon Koei and the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, in collaboration with the Myanma Electric Power Enterprise between 2001 and 2003. Findings of the study have been made available online in English and Japanese under the title: The Study on Introduction of Renewable Energies in Rural Areas in Myanmar. A summary of the study is contained in the first volume entitled Final Report: Summary.

Information about the Anyaphya project is found on a single page in Appendix A of the Renewable Energies report. Unlike the other small hydropower projects described in the appendix, no photos accompany the description of the Anyapya project, suggesting that the study team may not have had a chance to visit the proposed location in Dawei township, but simply put forward details provided to them.
The proposal to make use of the waters of Anyaphya creek to generate electricity for the city of Dawei seems a logical one. The creek rises in the 1500-metre-high Nwalabo range some 30km to the southeast of Dawei and flows into the tidal Dawei river through the city itself.
According to technical information provided in the Japanese study, a rockfill dam, some 48m in height, would be constructed about 14.5 km upstream from Dawei on Anyaphya creek. The proposal calls for three Kaplan type generators of 3.1 MW each to be installed in a power house at the dam. Details about the catchment area, reservoir, headrace tunnel, penstock, average mean discharge from the creek, etc, are also included. Water from the dam would also be used to irrigate 1300 hectares (3200 acres) of cropland, as well as to provide drinking water for the city and surrounding villages. The project would also cover construction of a 33kV transmission line and transformers. An estimate of the cost is not given.
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GENERAL ELECTRIC LICENSES SALE OF MEDICAL IMAGING EQUIPMENT IN MYANMAR

Reuters, 27/02/12. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/02/27/ge-myanmar-idUKL4E8DR1FM20120227

The medical equipment division of General Electric Co has reached a deal with a local partner to sell its products in Myanmar and said it could expand further as the country continues to open up to the outside world. GE Healthcare appointed Sea Lion Co Ltd on February 25 as the national dealer for its products in Myanmar.
Although the US government still has sanctions on investment in the country, foreign businesses are starting to test the waters because of political and economic reforms under a new civilian government in office since last March.
Foreign governments have said they would monitor elections on April 1 and if they are deemed free and fair, some could start to lift or soften sanctions.
Asked about GE Healthcare’s plans, regional spokesman Khor Jiak Woen said by email: “We have decided to permit the sale of GE Healthcare equipment and services into Myanmar. We will continue to carefully monitor developments in Myanmar and will decide when to permit the sale of other GE products and services as conditions evolve.”
In a statement to mark the venture with Sea Lion, David Utama, the chief executive officer of GE Healthcare ASEAN, stressed the company could help modernise Myanmar’s healthcare system with its medical imaging products and information technology.
Additional references

Patrick Win, Global Post Blog, 08/03/12. Comment. Edited. Excerpt.

http://www.globalpost.com/globalpost-blogs/southeast-asia/myanmar-general-electric

GE’s move to license sale of its medical imaging equipment in Burma is a shrewd first step for a company concerned about the "reputational" risks in this "country of concern": health care in Burma has shriveled from years of negligence under a junta that prioritized military spending over hospitals and schools. Given that American sanctions persist -- for now -- you might also wonder why the New York-based firm's dealings aren't criminal. But if you take a closer look at the complex web of sanctions, you'll find loopholes. One of the strongest sanctions, signed by former President Bill Clinton, prohibits "new investment" in Burma. But there's an exception to this rule specifying that it doesn't prohibit the "financing of a contract to sell or purchase goods, services, or technology." In fact, through various back doors, U.S. goods have been available (in scarce portions) inside Burma for some time.

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KDNG CLAIMS WORK CONTINUING ON CPI PROJECTS IN KACHIN STATE

Colin Hinshelwood, IRROL, 05/03/12. Edited. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23146

According to the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG), work at the Myitsone Dam is continuing, despite a presidential statement last September suspending construction on the controversial Chinese-backed megadam project. “The Myitsone dam project continues,” the Kachine environmental group said in a press release dated March 2. “An electricity transformer is being built at Nawng Hkying village in Waingmaw township. Some CPI workers are still at the dam site and in Myitkyina, and there is still equipment at the dam site. Road and bridge construction to deliver supplies to the seven dam project also continues.”
The KDNG statement pointed that the presidential decree of September 2011 suspending work on the Myitsone dam made no reference to other CPI hydropower projects planned for northern Kachin State. “The president did not mention the six dams planned for the May Hka and Mali Hka [rivers] which will have the same impacts on the Irrawaddy River and downstream people as the Myitsone dam,” said the KDNG. “Massive gold mining and logging is going on upstream of Myitsone. These destructive activities are also threatening the future of the Irrawaddy River.”
The KDNG statement coincides with reports from Kachin State that CPI has launched a campaign of its own—to quell opposition to the megadam and to enlist support for its restart from among residents living near the site and in state capital Myitkyina.
On March 1, Francis Wade, writing for Asian Correspondent, wrote that technicians and workers remain at the Myitsone site while security has been beefed up. Work on the road linking the dam to the Chinese border also continues, he said, citing local reports.
The KDNG claims that since the suspension of the dam, villagers relocated to make way for the project have not been permitted to return to their villages. The 1,000 families from five villages returned to the Myitsone area on Feb. 24 “to call for the permanent cancellation of the Irrawaddy dams and to be allowed to officially return home without fear of relocation.”
The Myitsone area villagers invited high-profile activists, including 88 Generation leader Min Ko Naing, as well as other released political prisoners, artists and journalists, to participate in a local ceremony at which Christian church members “collected stones from the Irrawaddy and built walls to protect their sacred places from the dam project.”
Three of the five villages that were evacuated to facilitate the dam—Taungban, Mazup and Lahpye—have been completely bulldozed and destroyed. “In Tanghpre, all public buildings including schools and orange orchards, were destroyed in order to discourage people from returning home,” said the KDNG statement. “Despite this destruction, some villagers continue to resist being moved to the relocation camp and remain in their original villages.” However, the Democratic Voice of Burma reported on Monday that a number of families from the village of Taunghtwat had returned home.
The KDNG said in its statement that those villagers who remain in the relocation camps “are facing difficulties ... mainly due to lack of land and livelihoods. The houses provided in the camp are not good quality and very little compensation was given. Some people are leaving the relocation camp in order to find work and survive.”
[Compiler’s Note: The KDNG press release and two photos of the ‘stone ceremony” can be found at the following URLs: http://burmariversnetwork.org/images/stories/petition_press_release/KDNG%20Press%20Release%20Eng.pdf

http://burmariversnetwork.org/images/stories/petition_press_release/Church%27s%20wall%20built%20by%20stones%20from%20Myitsone.jpg

http://burmariversnetwork.org/images/stories/petition_press_release/townpeople%20helping%20to%20build%20churches%27s%20wall%20at%20Tangpre%20by%20carring%20stones%20from%20Myitsone.jpg

For the article by Francis Wade, check the following URL which is accompanied by a good aerial photo of the confluence site. http://www.burmariversnetwork.org/news/11-news/771-has-the-myitsone-dam-in-burma-really-been-suspended.html ]

Additional references
For more information on CPIC’s Myitsone hydropower project see the following key articles in the compendium: ‘Agreement signed for Upper Kachin hydel projects’ (Myitson)’ (NLM: 02/01/07), ‘Prime minister updated on the Myitson hydropower project’ (NLM: 25/01/11), ‘China’s Investment in Kachin dams seen as cause of conflict’ (IRROL; 16/06/11), ‘President Thein Sein orders suspension of Myitsone dam project’ (IRROL: 30/09/11), ‘CPI president responds to suspension of Myitsone agreement’ (Xinhua: 03/10/11). For information on the Chipwenge hydropower project which was built to provide the electricity needed for the construction phases of the Myitsone and the Upper Cascades hydropower projects see: ‘Chipwi creek plant to power huge hydel project in Kachin state (Myanmar Times:24/03/08). For further information on the six Upper Cascades hydropower projects in Kachin State see: Appendix 32 (ELEP044). For reports on the environmental impact of all of CPI’s hydropower projects in northern Kachin State see: ‘BANCA’S critical report on China-backed dam smothered’ (DVB: 18/07/11) and ‘China Power Investment EIA report on Upper Ayeyawady projects’ (CSPDR: G2011). For information on transmission of the power generated by these projects see Chinese engineers planning grid connection (IRROL: 23/01/10).
Weekly Eleven, 06/04/12. Edited. Excerpt. http://www.burmariversnetwork.org/news/11-news/795-evidences-unveil-working-processes-of-cpi-asia-world-company-in-myitsone-area.html

Fresh and convincing evidence made available to the Eleven Media Group suggests that employees of CPIC and Asia World Company are continuing their work at the project of the Myitsone hydropower project. Local residents report that even though they cannot get inside the tightly restricted area at the project site, they see CPIC employees going about their activities at the project site. A resident of the Myitsone area reported seeing Chinese workers and vehicles with Chinese number plates passing through the villages in the area frequently during the past few months. The project area is also illuminated by electricity all night long. A resident of Myitkyina reported on 31 March that about 30 vehicles headed to Myitsone project during that week. Another individual who had returned from inside the project aea said that Chinese employees, heavy machinery and workforce seemed to be getting ready to restart the project.

KNG, 04/04/12. Edited and condensed. http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2267-leaked-document-says-cpi-planning-to-restart-myitsone-dam-project.html

A leaked document dated 28/03/12 from the Chinese official in charge of the Tengchong-Myitkyina Road liaison office to Lajawn Ngan Seng, Chief Minister of Kachin State, requests permission for “500 road construction engineers to enter Kachin State” because “China Power Investment (CPI) is planning to restart the Myitsone Hydro-power project”. The letter also asks that CPIC be given permission to bring “1,000 tons of diesel, 200 tons of petrol, 10,000 tons of cement, 5 bulldozers, 6 excavators, 8 trucks, and 20 cars, as well as other necessary materials and goods (for rations) at the Kambaiti border gate without having to pay import duties. [Compiler’s note: A photostat of a section of the leaked document accompanies the news item. It should be noted the suspension of the Myitson dam project by the Myanmar government did not include work on the other CPIC hydropower projects in northern Kachin State, notably the Chipwi dam on the N’maikha which was well underway at the time of the suspension of the Myitsone project. It could well be that construction activity on the Chipwi dam is to be prioritized and that equipment at the Myitsone site is to be transferred to the Chipwi dam site.]

Thomas Maung Shwe, Kachin News Group, 30/03/12. Excerpt. Edited. http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2265-200-workers-still-at-myitsone-dam-site-chinese-expect-suspension-to-be-lifted.html

An article published in the Chinese edition of Bloomberg BussinessWeek, substantiates the claims of environmental activists that a large number of workers from the firm behind the stalled Myitsone dam project remain at the construction site more than 6 months after the project was officially suspended by President Thein Sein. According to the article by Yang Meng, of the original workforce of 2,000 that was sent to the Myitkyina area to build the dam, 200 workers from the Chinese state-owned CPI are still at the site. 700 million Yuan ($111m) worth of equipment also remains writes Yang, who visited the Myitsone project site [recently].

Saw Yan Naing, IRROL, 20/03/12. Edited and condensed. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23247

Burmese authorities have told hundreds of villagers living near the site of the suspended Myitsone hydropower dam project in Kachin State to leave the area within 10 days or face the consequences, according to a local group monitoring the project. In a statement released on Monday, the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) said that five Burma army trucks and various government vehicles entered the village of Tanghpre on March 17 to enforce an earlier eviction order. “They ordered the villagers to get out within 10 days. They said they didn't want to see anyone in the village after that,” said KDNG spokesperson Tsa Ji, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. Most of the residents of the village had already been forced to leave their homes to make way for the Chinese-financed dam. They began returning after Burmese President Thein Sein ordered last September that the project should be put on hold because of concerns about its environmental impact. However, China's state-owned China Power Investment (CPI), the main investor in the multi-billion dollar project, has since made a concerted effort to get it restarted. According to Tsa Ji, officials from CPI and its Burmese partner, Asia World Co., Ltd., visited Tanghpre recently to ask the village priest to move the local Catholic church to a new location. Tsa Ji said the request was probably made because the church acts as a key center for the exchange of information. Since the authorities showed up in Tangphre on March 17, residents say they've seen more signs of activity at camps for Chinese workers involved in building the dam. They also report seeing vehicles patrolling the dam site.

Lawi Weng, IRROL, 14/03/12. Condensed. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23212

Environmental activists in Burma say that China's push to restart the Myitsone Dam project in Kachin State has them worried that the government could cave in to demands from the country's powerful northern neighbor. “Many people here were not happy when they heard about it and are very worried that the project will restart,” said Maung Wuntha, a well-known Burmese writer and journalist in Rangoon. “Personally, I strongly oppose any resumption of the project,” he said. Aw Pi Kyeh, a well-known cartoonist in Burma who also participated in the “Save the Irrawaddy” campaign to stop the dam project, said, “They should not go ahead with this project because it will hurt many people in this country.” He added, however, that since nobody knows about the terms of the contract between the Burmese and Chinese governments, there is a real danger that it will resume. “We will only agree to let them do it if they can provide all the facts and show them to the people of Burma, the world and environmentalists,” said Aw Pi Kyeh.

In response to China's recent pressure on Burma to restart construction of the dam, members of the 88 Generation Students group are planning to start a new campaign opposing the project. Mya Aye, an 88 Generation leader, said, “We are going to have a press conference and will soon start activities related to the Myitsone project.” “The Irrawaddy River is like a main artery carrying the lifeblood of Burma. Only the Burmese people have the right to decide its fate. We will not accept the interference of any foreign country,” he added. On Tuesday, the group sent a letter to President Thein Sein urging him to suspend a recent order to residents of the village of Tanghpre to leave the area by March 17. Many of the villagers had returned to their homes despite the destruction of public buildings in their community, which was one of five villages forced to relocate because of the dam project. The group said that the government should not force the villagers to leave as it would add to tensions at a time when the country is trying to achieve national reconciliation with ethnic people.
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