At least 1.39 million people have moved out of their homes near the Three Gorges Dam but the transition is not complete as authorities are still trying to find jobs for farmers and others.

The migration, which lasted 18 years, affected the lives of people in more than 20 regions in Chongqing and Hubei Province.

The dam, which crosses the Yangtze River in Yichang, Hubei Province, was built to permanently manage floods in the river and generate electricity.

The State Council released regulations pertaining to the resettlement in 1993 stressing that migrants should be treated appropriately.

The government has set aside 600 million yuan (US$89 million) to train 300,000 migrants for new jobs, and support educational services for 40,000 children of migrants.

However problems could still surface during and after the migration process as many who were forced to move are not completely happy with their new homes.

Tan Xiwei, vice mayor of Chongqing, told China News Service in March that 6,000 migrated people have returned to their old homes.

"These people might be homesick or realized they couldn't fit in to their new environment. However, the government is making it a priority to give them a comfortable new home, with measures such as increasing the land per capita for new migrants," Tan said.

Another significant problem is the compensation for those people. "The local government promised to give us land and a house, but the commitment has still not been fulfilled," a migrant in Hubei Province told China Weekly.

"Although the relocation project is almost coming to an end, there is still a long way to go. In terms of local sustainable development and social stability, giving migrants a happy life is easier said than done," Feng Yujun, professor at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times Saturday.

(Global Times September 19, 2010)