Society

6 injured in clash over water project

By Zheng Caixiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-09 07:06

Protestors were demanding release of detained villagers

GUANGZHOU: At least six people were injured Sunday in a clash between villagers and law enforcement officers over the construction of a drinking water project in Yingde, a city of Guangdong province.

According to a statement released by the Yingde city government yesterday, more than 300 residents of three villages in the city's Hengshishui town rallied in front of the township government headquarters to protest the detention of several villagers on Saturday.

The protestors were demanding the release of the villagers who were detained from the construction site of the drinking water project, situated near the township's Shangkong reservoir, the statement said.

Some of the protestors barged into the township government headquarters and started fighting with police officers and other officials, the statement said.

They also smashed the windows of the building and other office facilities with bamboo rods, benches and ashtrays, it added.

Two vehicles owned by the township government were also damaged.

Among the wounded are police officials and people employed in the government building, an official from Hengshishui township government said.

The official said the villagers who were detained on Saturday for attempting to sabotage construction of the project will not be released at the moment as they had committed the crime of inflicting bodily injuries.

"The case is still under investigation, and we want to find the real culprits," the official, who refused to be named, told China Daily yesterday.

She said villagers do not realize that the drinking water project will benefit more than 50,000 residents of the city.

More than 100 villagers who had gathered outside the Shangkong reservoir on Saturday used stones and shovels to damage excavators and other vehicles at the construction site.

The official did not reveal the exact number of people who were detained from the site.

"The township government has won approval from the upper authorities to build the project, which included construction of a water pipeline to link Shangkong reservoir in Qiaotou town to help provide drinking water to more than 50,000 residents," the official said.

"But local villagers strongly oppose the project, claiming they would not get sufficient water supply after the project is built," she said.

To ensure construction continuous smoothly, police officers have been sent to secure the construction site and the township government headquarters, she said.

Also, special work groups will soon be sent to visit villages to go "door-to-door and promote the project", she added.

Chen Tianxiang, a professor at the management school of politics and public affairs under Guangzhou-based Sun Yatsen University, said the latest clash indicated a communication gap between the local township government and villagers.

"Government departments should fully consider and protect villagers' interests and offer them channels to voice their concerns," Chen said.

Xiao Jingwen contributed to the story