Mar 5, 2009 (DVB), Locals from Kyauktaw township, Arakan state, are concerned that the recently opened Zeegyaung Dam will flood their farmland and homes.

The electricity-generating dam was officially opened on 21 February. At 840 ft long and 115 ft high, it can provide water for around 1000 acres of farmland, according to the official statistics.

The dam is also equipped with two generators, one that can produce 80 megawatts of electricity and another that can produce 40 megawatts.

Villagers living below the dam claim they are not getting enough water, whereas paddy fields belonging to villages above the dam, such as Thayagon, Thitapone and Minthataung, could be inundated during the rainy season.

"The farms and fields of the village are likely to go under water and people will be severely affected," a villager said.

There are 600 houses in Thayagon, 350 in Thaitapone and more than 1000 in Minthataung.

If water is being diverted to lower areas, villagers fear farmlands belonging to low-lying villages such as Thayettapin and Shwetale will flood.

Reporting by Aye Nai