Villagers affected by the Rasi Salai Dam project yesterday agreed to end their five-month-long protest after the Science Ministry pledged to verify their compensation claims in 45 days. The agreement followed Deputy Science and Technology Minister Pornthep Techapaibul's promise to the villagers their claims would be verified based on aerial photos. Some 600 villagers from Surin, Si Sa Ket and Roi Et provinces have joined forces under an umbrella group called the Moon River Basin Assembly to press for state compensation for the inundation of their farmland as a result of the Rasi Salai Dam construction five years ago.