PHAYAO : At least 2,000 people will be mobilised to oppose the planned construction of two large dams on the Yom River during the next opinion gathering forum on the project in Phrae this week.
Somming Muangrong, chairman of an anti-dam committee in tambon Sa-iab of Phrae's Song district, said residents of the tambon and people from Phayao's Chiang Muan district would attend the meeting to express their opposition to the construction of the Upper and Lower Yom dams.
The forum, which is the third to be held on the project, will take place on Tuesday.
The dams, if built, would adversely affect natural resources and the livelihoods of residents, he said.
They had been proposed to replace the controversial Kaeng Sua Ten dam project in Phrae.
Mr Somming said he expects at least 2,000 people from the two northern provinces to attend the forum, which will be held at Piriyalai School in the Muang district of Phrae.
The session will be organised by the Royal Irrigation Department and a consulting firm.
On Friday, the department was forced to prematurely end its forum on the dam project after hundreds of locals staged a protest in Phayao.
Mr Somming said an area earmarked for the Lower Yom dam was about five kilometres from tambon Sa-iab. The dam would cause flooding in the Mae Yom National Park in tambon Sa-iab and would damage the teak forest of the park, he said.
Vast areas of farmland in tambon Sa-iab and in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang would also be flooded, he said.
Adul Ountan, a Chiang Muan resident and adviser to the Phayao provincial administration organisation chairman, said the Upper Yom dam, which is slated to be built about two kilometres from Donchai village in tambon Sa-iab, would cause flooding in a mixed forest inside the Mae Yom National Park, which is home to rare peacocks and other wildlife.
It would also inundate large agricultural areas in the Yom River basin, while 11 villages in Chiang Muan district would also be affected, he said.
The local people will not allow any dam to be built on the Yom River, he said.