Bangkok - The Mekong River, South-East Asia's longest, is 'drastically dry' this month due to the hot season and two mega-dam projects built in Yunnan, China, the Bangkok Post reported Sunday.

The dramatic fall in the river level has slowed boat travel to a crawl in the upper parts of the Mekong, which originates from the Himalayan mountains in Tibet and courses through Yunnan province in China to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, where it empties into the South China Sea.

Boats now take a month to complete journeys that normally take three days, and the trips have become more hazardous, cruise manager Yu Yan told the newspaper.

'We can see remains of boats, which sunk after crashing into reefs. Sometimes, boats must stay anchored until China releases water every three or four days,' he said.

Source: M & C

China has built two hydro-electric dams in Manwan and Dachaoshan districts in Yunnan province and has plans to construct six more in the future.

Nearly one third of the 4,900 kilometre-long river is in China, but the remainder forms a vital lifeline for fishermen and farmers in mainland South-East Asia.

China's dams may have already affected the Meking fish stock, observers say.

'Fishermen have caught fewer fish. We have no idea why all the fish disappeared,' said one hotel operator in Huai Xai district in