Plan to restore temple hits snag
Environmentalists are opposing a plan by the governor of Phayao province to restore a temple that was submerged by the creation of Kwan Payao, the country's largest man-made lake, due to fears of damage to the ecosystem.
Harnnarong Yaowalert, a member of the working group on science and natural resources of the National Economic and Social Development Advisory Council, said that to restore Wat Tilokaram, a 17-rai area on the west side of Kwan Payao would have to be enclosed and the water drained out. He said the project violated several Cabinet resolutions related to Kwan Payao and would damage the lake's ecosystem. Believed to have been built 500 years ago by King Tilokanart of the former Lanna Kingdom, now part of northern Thailand, Wat Tilokram has been inundated since Kwan Payao was built 68 years ago. Harnnarong said that to change the ecosystem of the lake, an environmental impact assessment had to be conducted first. Moreover, as the temple is more than 100 years old, the approval of the Fine Arts Department is needed, he said.
Janjira Pongrai
The Nation
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