Lao Dam Resettlement Village Out of Water Due to Drought
More than 100 Lao families who were moved to a resettlement village four years ago to make way for construction of the Nam Tha 1 Dam hydropower project in Luang Namtha province have run out of water amid a worsening drought, local sources say.
Water sources near the Nam Tha 1 Resettlement Village, comprising seven sub-villages built on high ground about 10 km (6 miles) away from the Nam Tha River in the province’s Nalae district, have now all dried up, the chief of the Tavan sub-village told RFA’s Lao Service in a recent interview.
“The creek nearby has all dried up,” the chief, named Bounsy, said. “And because people from many different villages have now moved here, we don’t have enough water. The company building the dam has stopped helping us, because its contract to help has expired.”
