Dumped Rocks Removed from Otres Beach
Pictures posted on Facebook on June 11 showed piles of rocks on the beach, sparking a wave of criticism from social media users. Photo from Som Pheakra News/Facebook
- By Lay Sopheavotey
- June 12, 2024 8:10 PM
PHNOM PENH – Rocks dumped on Otres Beach in Sihanoukville have been taken away and the shore restored, Deputy Governor Long Dimanche says.
Pictures posted on Facebook on June 11 showed piles of rocks on the beach, sparking a wave of criticism from social media users.
Dimanche said a company located in front of the beach had requested many times to build a water park tourist attraction at the spot.
However, the authority instructed the company to ask for permits from the government first. The company then filed documents to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction and other ministries.
The ministry, however, told the company to ask the national government directly but the company seemed to have misunderstood the instruction as a permit and started the construction.
“Building the water park requires a permit from the government first. We don’t have the right to decide in this case,” Dimanche said.
The company was ordered to take down the construction site and to retrieve the rocks from the sea and restore the beach, he added.
In February, there was a similar case of dumping rocks into the Mekong River in Prey Totueng village, Kampong Cham province.
The landowner, cited by deputy governor Srey Sopheak, said it was to “prevent the riverbank behind their land from collapsing into the river.”
The landowner, who did not have a permit for such an act, eventually dug the rocks out in 70 days, following the provincial administration’s order.
