The dam construction is part of the Dawei (Tavoy) deep seaport project in the Tenasserim Region of southern Burma, and would plunge Ka Lone Htar village underwater.

Local villagers have refused the relocation request issued by the Italian-Thai Development (ITD) Company leading the construction project, and sent a petition to that effect to President Thein Sein.

“If the dam is built here, everything in this village including pagodas, monasteries, schools, and plantations will be flooded. So, we do not want to move even though we are told to do so,” said the abbot in Ka Lone Htar.

Residents had previously expressed their rejection of ITD’s relocation plans on July 16, when the company held a local meeting with the villagers. Additionally, residents were visited five times in October and November 2011 by the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Support Team Chairman Tin Maung Swe, township and village administers, and members of the ITD Company. The delegation distributed materials describing the construction project and relocation agreements for the villagers to sign, but reportedly did not receive a single signature.

“We are told by those in charge [of the project] to move to a new place that is two miles from our village. They add that they will compensate us. But the villagers do not want to accept the compensation or the move,” said the abbot.

Villagers assert that the plantations in Ka Lone Htar have passed down through local families for generations, and are now in prime condition for profitable agricultural output. The majority of Ka Lone Htar residents rely on farming and gathering wild fruits such as cardamom and djenkol beans to earn a living.

The village of Ka Lone Htar comprises 9,240 acres of agricultural land, with about 182 households and a population of more than 1,000, and is located in the Tha-line Yar Village Track of Yebyu Township.