Resource information
The Burmese military government, together with
the government of India, is planning to build a giant
hydroelectric dam near Tamanthi on the Chindwin River
in northwest Burma’s Sagaing Division. The dam’s fl ood
reservoir will be almost 1,400 sq km, the size of Delhi, and
will permanently displace over 45,000 people, including
the entire town of Khamti. Already over 2,400 people have
been relocated at gunpoint from the dam site, without fair
compensation.
The Tamanthi dam will adversely affect the biodiversity
and ecological balance of the entire Chindwin River, which,
as the largest tributary of the Irrawaddy, acts as a major
watershed for the whole country. Although the dam will
bring about massive changes to the Chindwin, the entire
dam building process has been shrouded in secrecy, and
there has been a complete lack of public participation in
decision making.
Local indigenous Kuki people have been nourished by the
Chindwin for generations, and are determined to protect
the river from this destructive project. We therefore urge
the Burmese regime and Indian government to immediately
cancel the Tamanthi dam.
