The abbots from six village monasteries in Ye Township, Mon State asked the Mon State Government to stop the construction of a coal-fired power plant by the Toyo Thai company in An-Din Village in Ye Township.
The request was made when the monks met with the state prime minister U Ohn Myint, the state parliament chairman U Kyin Phay, and the minister of planning and economic Dr. Min New Soe on 15th December state parliament member Dr. Aung Naing Oo told to Phophtaw News.
She said: “In the matter of the coal-fired power plant construction the monks said that it could cause environmental impacts, deterioration of forests and mountains and social problems so they asked for it to be stopped.”
The government officials explained to the monks that they have not yet approved the project according to Dr. Aung Naing Oo.
She said: “The prime minister explained that the company [Toyo Thai] were only given permission to carry out feasibility studies for the coal-fired power plant. Neither the state nor the union level governments have given their approval to allow the project to be constructed. Currently the only activitiesToyo Thai are carrying out are field surveys and canvassing local residents for their opinions.”
The monks came from the villages of An-Din, Thar-Gram, Yoar-Thit, Hnee-Hnu, Hnee-Tayoat (Hnee-Karate) villages from An-Din Village-Tract.
Mi Seik Sone from An-Din Village said that about 400 people from community based organisations (CBOs) and local residents held a march to protest against the project’s impact and to call for a halt to the power station in Ye Town on 14th December.
He said: “Our local residents object to the project and protested [against it] because our farmlands could be ruined, our health will deteriorate, fishermen will face a scarcity of fish because fish will be killed by waste from the factory, the environment will be impacted and the air will be polluted which will affect all local residents.”
Ko Than Lwin an An-Din villager said there are two groups of villagers: those that accept the power plant’s construction and those that oppose it.
The Mon State Parliament announced that Toyo Thai should stop its feasibility study for the coal-fired power plant because they were told they had to complete it by July 2014.
Translated by Aung Myat Soe English version written by Mark Inkey for BNI
