Residents of Sichuan province's Hanyuan county, the scene of violent clashes over a hydroelectric dam, said they would stop holding protests unless construction of the project resumed.
A villager from Dashu township yesterday said local television reported that the central government had ordered a halt to the Pubugou project, after riots last week left two villagers dead.
However, authorities in Chengdu , Yaan and Hanyuan county refused to verify the report.
The villager, surnamed Ji, quoted the report as saying work on the project would not resume until disputes over a relocation plan were fully resolved.
As many as 10,000 villagers being forced to move to make way for the project are dissatisfied with the government's compensation offer.
Fierce clashes broke out late last month when villagers from seven nearby townships tried to stop the damming of the Dadu river at the site of the Pubugou project, which had been protected by up to 600 police, witnesses said.
