The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Kuroda presented a bowl of coal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 04, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Kuroda presented a bowl of coal

Special Correspondent

Symbol of resentment over ADB's funding of dirty coal power plants

EXPRESSING DISSENT: Village leaders presenting a bowl of coal to ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda at the 39th annual meeting of the ADB in Hyderabad on Wednesday. — Photo: Satish H.

HYDERABAD: Village leaders from three communities devastated by Asian Development Bank-financed coal plants presented bank President Haruhiko Kuroda with a bowl of coal to symbolise their resentment over the bank's continued funding of climate change through dirty coal power plants.

The three leaders were speaking at a civil society meeting with Mr. Kuroda here on Wednesday. Greenpeace highlighted these three leaders representing communities particularly affected by the bank's dirty energy funding.

Responsible for diseases

Narudon Suchartphong (55), Charoen Detkhum (63) and Sutti Atchasai (29) represent communities of villagers around coal plants like BLCP and Mae Moh. Greenpeace said in a press release that these plants were responsible for mass respiratory illnesses, destruction of livelihoods in the community and displacement of countless villagers.

Mr. Charoen Detkhum of the Mae Moh villagers' community said the ADB should immediately withdraw finance for the BLCP coal plant project and stop all future construction until a full environmental audit is conducted.

List of demands

The community leaders also handed Mr. Kuroda a letter detailing their demands from the ADB.

The demands include repatriation of some of the most affected villages to locations at least five km away from the mine, provision of doctors trained in occupational health and provision of treatment and compensation for villagers' ill health and medical expenses. They also asked the ADB to withdraw funding for the proposed expansion of the lignite mine at Mae Moh and the BLCP coal plant.

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