Hundreds of villagers in the central province of Saraburi has staged a protest against the construction of a palm oil plant in the area.
Villagers said they were concerned about the effects on environment in the surrounding area of the plant, including their villages.
Representatives of the project claimed they held a public hearing in November last year as required by the law for a mega project. However, villagers alleged that they were not invited to express their concerns.
During a renewed public hearing yesterday, the situation became tense and escalated to the level of confrontation between protesters and local authorities who were responsible for hearing and giving permission to the construction project.
However, a local military force which was assigned to observe the situation intervened and calm the two sides down, after which the meeting continued .
Protesters dispersed when all parties involved agreed to open another hearing on January 18 and residents in villages close to the project would be all invited.
