Thai Dam Again Blamed for Salinisationby Phairath Khampha 16 April 2000 Demand for urgent inquiry into cause Farmers around Rasi Salai Dam in Thailand were afraid their crops would be ruined by spreading soil salinisation caused by the dam. Chalam Kongnernnoke, 45, from Amphur Phon Sai in Roi Et province, said his rice plants were wilting because his fields were covered in fine salt. Mr Chalam, who planted his first off-season crop in February 2000, said the plants grew to only 10 cm before they began to wither. Thailand's controversial Rasi Salai Dam again causes more problems for the people it supposedly was to assist. This dam, too, seems to be another of Thailand's white elephants and a monument to corrupt politicians and officials. Forum of the Poor adviser Paijit Silaruk said 86 farms with 1,000 rai (1 rai=1,6000 m2) of land in Roi Et, Si Sa Ket and Surin provinces were faced with the same problem. Although soil salinity was common in the Northeast, this was the first time the level was high enough to turn the rice plants brown in small salt fields 3 km from the reservoir, he said. Soil salinity would force farmers in the region to delay their first crop and wait for rain or irrigation water to wash the salt away, Mr Chalam said. The problem could be solved by flushing the soil with water, adding fertilisers or leaving the land fallow for three to five years, said Chainarong Sretthachau of Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN). "The best solution is to flush the land with water from the Rasi Salai reservoir. The developer has argued that the merits of the dam outweigh the small impact of soil salinity. But compared to time and money needed to remedy the soil, dam construction is not worthwhile," he said. It seems the dam was rushed through to its construction, mainly to line the pockets of venal politicians, government officials and contractors, on the pretext it would help local people, but the exact opposity happened. Local farmers and NGOs submitted a letter to the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry urging that it conduct a full and urgent investigation into the dam's impact on the soil. "The dam is unsuitable and could be harmful since it was built over rock salt geology like that of the Northeast region," Mr Chainarong said. "Saline water wells up above the rice fields and makes the soil barren for plantation." Soil salinisation is a common problem in the Northeast and even the Moon river, a major tributary of the Mekong, is brackish during the rainy season and salty during the hot season. Somsri Arunin, an expert from the Land Development Department, said the dam's construction over rock salt could spread soil salinisation but denied there was a direct link between the Rasi Salai project and soil salinity. She said the salt dome was usually located 50-100 m underground and that the Department of Energy Development and Promotion (DEDP) built the reservoir in a way which allowed the water to seep 30 m underground. "It is possible that weir construction would increase soil salinity in the area. There are salt fields around. It is possible that water could dilute salt in that area," Ms Somsri said. However, one of Ms. Somsri's distant relatives owns a construction firm that has contracts to work on the construction of dams in the area. There was no solid data on soil salinity in the Northeast to consider before attempting other dam construction projects. The DEDP already built 13 weirs and reservoirs under the Kong-Chi-Moon project to increase water supply. All 13, including the Rasi Salai dam, were built without conducting environmental impact assessment studies as they were approved long before the requirement of such studies.
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