a record drop in the water level of Mekong river is likely to deprive millions of people in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam of their livelihoods. Environmentalists hold huge dams in China and last year's severe drought responsible for the crisis. Originating in the Tibetan plateau, the 4830-km-long Mekong flows through China and Myanmar too. The four countries mentioned above are located downstream of the river.

The Mekong River Commission (mrc), which has representatives from the four countries, revealed on March 24 that the river was flowing at its lowest recorded level. It was "close to rock bottom' near the end of its course, it said. The mrc was established to oversee the health of the Mekong waterway through the four countries that rely heavily on it for food, water and transport.

Intriguingly, the commission did a flip-flop on the issue. mrc's Cambodia director, Pech Sokhem, observed that although low rainfall was one of the causes of the problem, Chinese dams were the main culprit (see: