At a press conference held on June 11th, an umbrella group of NGO’s called the Kaladan Movement urged Myanmar, India, and India’s ESSAR company to provide more clarity on the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (the Kaladan project).
The project is being funded by India’s Ministry of External Affairs because India will be the main beneficiary of this huge infrastructure project, which will provide India’s land-locked northeastern region with access to the sea. According to the Arakan Rivers Network website, ESSAR Projects Ltd. is the project’s lead developer while Myanmar’s government will construct the last leg of the project, which consists of a road running from Chin State’s Paletwa Town to the Indian border.
During the press conference on June 11th, the Kaladan Movement issued a statement asserting that the parties involved in developing the project haven’t provided enough information about the effects it will have on local people and the environment—despite the fact that Myanmar and India have already been working on the project for about four years. So far, only general information has been released about the project, such as its expected completion date of 2016 and the project’s US $214 million price-tag.
At the press conference, a member of the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) named Salai Bawi Pi said that “Although it has been four years now, no information about the consequences of the Kaladan project will have on the environment…has be made available to local people. That’s why we request the governments of India and Myanmar to clarify the issues involved.”
The Kaladan project is designed to facilitate transportation between the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata to a seaport at Sittwe, the capital of Burma’s Rakhine State. The transportation route will then head upstream on the Kaladan River from Sittwe to Paletwa, a major Kaladan River port located in Chin State. From Paletwa, the final stage of the project involves the construction of a road that will connect Paletwa with the Indian border.
CHRO’s Salai Bawi Pi added that “For ESSAR, consulting with local people is the best way for working on this kind of project, as local people are experts on social and environment issues in this area. Therefore, they can help prevent harmful effects from occurring as a result of the project.”
Meanwhile , the Kaladan Movement’s statement claimed that no compensation has been given to 11 people from Lawngadu Village after 16 acres of their land was used for the project, even though the ESSAR promised to pay them.
NGO’s that have joined the Kaladan Movement are concerned about the impact of the Kaladan project on human rights, social issues, business, and the environment. The umbrella group includes NGO’s such as the Arakan River Network (ARN); the Chin Human Right Organization (CHRO); and the Zo Indigenous Forum (ZIF) are all members of the group.
