Two local Kachin women, who have been involved in anti-Myitsone dam activities, say they have had their rice rations cut by CPI, the Chinese backers of the Irrawaddy River hydropower project.

After two months of walking across the country, a group of campaigners dubbed the ‘Myitsone marchers’ reach Sagaing Division’s Katha district.

Hundreds of activists set off from Rangoon by foot on a march to Myitsone, the source of the Irrawaddy River, to call for the complete shutdown of a China-backed hydroelectric mega-dam project at the site.

Former political prisoners will lead a march from Rangoon to Kachin State to protest the Myitsone Dam project.

Chinese dam-builders say resumption of the Irrawaddy seven-dam project will bring electricity, revenue, jobs and tourists to the region while a local NGO claims it will destroy the environment and livelihoods, and further fuel the conflict in Kachin State.

Up to 1,000 families relocated for dam return to village, but questions remain about whether work has been stopped at Kachin site