Gas pipeline cheats society: activists

They also expressed disappointment, saying the government is “ignoring the project”.

The former junta authorised China’s state-own China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to implement the project, which is now supplying natural gas through the pipeline to China.

“Did the locals know about the project in advance?” said advocate Han Shin Win at the forum. “Or did they know about it only after bulldozers entered their farms? There has been widespread public campaigns about possible dangers when you use mobile phones and smoke at gas stations in Yangon. Now local people are cooking and living near the pipeline. It shows there was no public awareness campaigns and transparency about the project. The whole of society faced loses because of the project, while the government is ignoring it.” 

He also blasted the government for failing to protect the interests of the people.

“We only got 30,000 kyat as compensation for land taken for the project in our village,” said Salai Shwelay from Sonekone in Ngepe Township, Magwe Region. “That amount was too little to buy another plot. For farmland seizures, local farmers got only 13 million kyat as the highest for an acre of farmland when an acre then was worth 30 million kyat. The government should deal with the unfairness.”