• Burmese
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Paunglaung Dam Violates Norms and Destroys Lives, Study Finds

Zue Zue by Zue Zue
October 7, 2015
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Paunglaung Dam Violates Norms and Destroys Lives

Households displaced from Paunglaung because of Upper Palaung Dam. (Photo: Physicians for Human Rights)

3.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — Displacement caused by the Paunglaung dam in eastern Burma’s Shan State was carried out in violation of human rights and has resulted in the deterioration of health, food security and livelihoods, according to a survey carried out by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).

The findings, published earlier this week in a report titled, “Forced Displacements and Destroyed Lives Around the Upper Paunglaung Dam in Shan State, Myanmar,” showed that international guidelines were not followed during the displacement process leaving lasting effects on the communities moved to make way for the 61 square kilometer reservoir.

“Myanmar [Burma] authorities have, once again, not bothered following international guidelines when evicting families, forcing them deeper into poverty,” said Widney Brown, PHR’s director of programs and the report’s principal author.

RelatedPosts

Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More

Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More

May 10, 2025
1.6k
Naypyitaw Parliament Crumbles as Myanmar Junta’s Grand Ambitions Collapse 

Naypyitaw Parliament Crumbles as Myanmar Junta’s Grand Ambitions Collapse 

April 24, 2025
1.4k
Plundering Paradise: China’s Role in Myanmar’s Environmental Crisis

Plundering Paradise: China’s Role in Myanmar’s Environmental Crisis

January 24, 2025
1.7k

PHR surveyed a total of 80 consenting households, interviewing participants about the displacement procedures, relocation process and post-move conditions. Over the course of nine months, the researchers found that the project ultimately resulted in a loss of jobs and income, increased food insecurity and poverty, and limited access to improved water sources.

Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said they accepted a relocation scheme because they felt threatened or afraid of what would happen if they refused, and 84 percent dropped below the poverty line after the relocation. Ninety-three percent of respondents said their overall living situation had become worse since they were displaced.

Ninety-one percent said they did not have enough money to make ends meet. Forty-five percent cited insufficient access to drinking water. Eighty-one percent of respondents should be referred to a professional consultant to seek treatment for depression, the report said, as mental illness and alcoholism appear on the rise.

The Upper Paunglaung dam supplies electricity to the capital Naypyidaw and lies on the Paunglaung River in southern Shan State, an area prone to conflict between the Burmese government and ethnic rebels.

The project was jointly developed by Chinese, Swiss, and British firms, and was completed in 2013, according to PHR. Some 8,000 people from 23 villages were relocated to make way for the development.

Deputy Minister for Electric Power Aung Than Oo recently told the Lower House of Parliament that the ministry had developed a acceptable system for dealing with displacement related to energy projects, which included construction of new villages complete with homes, roads and water supply. He also testified that measures were in place to ensure that compensation reached the hands of those displaced.

“Though [authorities] have given verbal promises, the situation is very bad, in reality,” affected villager Min Min Htay told reporters in Rangoon. “We don’t have enough food, sources of livelihood are scarce and we have difficulty accessing drinking water. Some people got depressed because they lost their farms, and even tried to commit suicide by taking poison.”

PHR is a New York-based advocacy group that focuses on physical and psychological impacts on communities on the frontlines of human rights crises. Operating in more than 60 countries, PHR specializes in using forensic documentation to assess human rights conditions.

A number of Burma-based civil society organizations assisted PHR in carrying out the Paunglaung survey, including Land In Our Hands (LIOH), Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY) and six other local organizations.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: A_FactivaDevelopmentMore
Zue Zue

Zue Zue

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

It’s Time to Engage The Resistance Govt in Myanmar’s Rakhine
Guest Column

It’s Time to Engage The Resistance Govt in Myanmar’s Rakhine

by Mra Thida
March 29, 2024
2.8k

The junta’s loss of control over much of Myanmar’s westernmost state has made the United League of Arakan the most...

Read moreDetails
Plundering Paradise: China’s Role in Myanmar’s Environmental Crisis
Guest Column

Plundering Paradise: China’s Role in Myanmar’s Environmental Crisis

by Vaishali Basu Sharma
January 24, 2025
1.7k

China’s aggressive resource extraction in Myanmar is leaving a trail of environmental destruction and debt dependency in its wake, warns...

Read moreDetails
Inspiring Women of Burma  
Burma

Inspiring Women of Burma  

by The Irrawaddy
March 18, 2016
33.6k

The contributions of some of Burma’s leading female figures are highlighted in the final part of a series that ran...

Read moreDetails
Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More
Junta Watch

Paranoid Junta Turns to Foreign Expertise After 4 Years of Chaos; and More

by The Irrawaddy
May 10, 2025
1.6k

Also this week, regime boss Min Aung Hlaing joined his main allies in Moscow as his regime bombed resistance-held territory...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Power Shortage Leaves Millions at Mercy of Searing Summer
Features

Myanmar Power Shortage Leaves Millions at Mercy of Searing Summer

by Yuzana
May 8, 2023
6.8k

Electricity and water outages menace households and entrepreneurs as country slides further into chaos under military rule.    

Read moreDetails
Naypyitaw Parliament Crumbles as Myanmar Junta’s Grand Ambitions Collapse 
Burma

Naypyitaw Parliament Crumbles as Myanmar Junta’s Grand Ambitions Collapse 

by Lin Thurein Kyaw
April 24, 2025
1.4k

Built by regime cronies just two decades ago as a monument to military rule, the Parliament complex failed to withstand...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Suu Kyi Says She Hopes to Lead Burma Despite Constitutional Ban

Suu Kyi Says She Hopes to Lead Burma Despite Constitutional Ban

From the Archive: Photos of Burma’s Historic By-elections

From the Archive: Photos of Burma’s Historic By-elections

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

6 days ago
1.3k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

1 week ago
1.1k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • TNLA Invites Investment in Ruby and Mineral Towns Amid Myanmar Junta Onslaught

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Two Myanmar Migrants Still Languish in Thai Jail Over Min Aung Hlaing Protest

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.