Activists assail dam project
R. MageswariPublished: Apr 11, 2001 3:32 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
A group of 30 activists held a demonstration in Shah Alam this morning to protest against the construction of a dam in Hulu Selangor.
The group, comprising of human rights advocates, musicians, students, academics and opposition party members, handed out leaflets, chanted slogans and held banners in protest of the construction of the Sungai Selangor dam in Kuala Kubu Baru.
"Save the Sg Selangor", "Short Term Profits, Long Term Pain" and "We Want Sustainable Development" were some of the banners carried by the protestors in front of the Gamuda building.
The RM2.15 billion contract for the construction of the dam was awarded to a consortium comprising Gamuda, Land and General, and a Selangor state government subsidiary, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan.
"Among the most worrisome aspects of the dam is the question of safety of the proposed dam site," said Sonia Randhawa, the media spokesperson for the group. She pointed out that a much smaller dam built at the proposed site collapsed in 1883, killing 25 people.
In a statement to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange yesterday, Gamuda said the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister's Department had "verbally confirmed" that the project had been approved by the Cabinet.
The project, expected to be completed by 2005, will involve the construction of ponds, pipelines linking treatment plants and ponds, and the levelling of the 8.7km Kuala Kubu Baru-Frasers Hill road. Land clearing activities has commenced at the site.
"We are also concerned as the contract for Environmental Impact Assessment was given to a component of Gamuda without an open competitive tender," Randhawa said. She added that the emergency evacuation plan of the people living downstream of the Selangor river, in case of a dam failure, was not detailed in the EIA but was only mentioned in passing.
According to Randhawa, some of the ecological disasters like the collapse of the Highland Towers and the landslides in Bukit Antarabangsa and Pos Dipang in recent years, despite monitoring and enforcement of the EIA conditions by the Department of Environment and municipal councils, remains a cause for concern.
The group has requested the World Conservation Union to carry out an independent EIA, and has also reached out to international NGOs such as International Rivers Network for support and solidarity. It hopes to hold a meeting with Science, Technology and Environment Minister Law Hieng Deng next month to urge him to stall the construction.
"We are also looking at the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the consortium," Randhawa said.
The group, comprising of human rights advocates, musicians, students, academics and opposition party members, handed out leaflets, chanted slogans and held banners in protest of the construction of the Sungai Selangor dam in Kuala Kubu Baru.
"Save the Sg Selangor", "Short Term Profits, Long Term Pain" and "We Want Sustainable Development" were some of the banners carried by the protestors in front of the Gamuda building.
The RM2.15 billion contract for the construction of the dam was awarded to a consortium comprising Gamuda, Land and General, and a Selangor state government subsidiary, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan.
"Among the most worrisome aspects of the dam is the question of safety of the proposed dam site," said Sonia Randhawa, the media spokesperson for the group. She pointed out that a much smaller dam built at the proposed site collapsed in 1883, killing 25 people.
In a statement to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange yesterday, Gamuda said the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister's Department had "verbally confirmed" that the project had been approved by the Cabinet.
The project, expected to be completed by 2005, will involve the construction of ponds, pipelines linking treatment plants and ponds, and the levelling of the 8.7km Kuala Kubu Baru-Frasers Hill road. Land clearing activities has commenced at the site.
"We are also concerned as the contract for Environmental Impact Assessment was given to a component of Gamuda without an open competitive tender," Randhawa said. She added that the emergency evacuation plan of the people living downstream of the Selangor river, in case of a dam failure, was not detailed in the EIA but was only mentioned in passing.
According to Randhawa, some of the ecological disasters like the collapse of the Highland Towers and the landslides in Bukit Antarabangsa and Pos Dipang in recent years, despite monitoring and enforcement of the EIA conditions by the Department of Environment and municipal councils, remains a cause for concern.
The group has requested the World Conservation Union to carry out an independent EIA, and has also reached out to international NGOs such as International Rivers Network for support and solidarity. It hopes to hold a meeting with Science, Technology and Environment Minister Law Hieng Deng next month to urge him to stall the construction.
"We are also looking at the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the consortium," Randhawa said.
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