Retrieve Dumped River Rocks, Landowner Told
Photo: Kampong Cham Administration Facebook
- By Nhek Sreyleak
- and Meng Seavmey
- February 23, 2024 6:10 PM
PHNOM PENH – Kampong Cham Administration has given a landowner who dumped construction rocks into the Mekong River 70 days to dig them out.
The administration stepped in on Feb. 22, after a wave of criticism from the public over pictures of the rocks at Prey Totueng village.
After an investigation, the administration confirmed the dumping, which started on Jan. 2.
The landowner said the reason was to prevent the riverbank behind their land from collapsing into the river, deputy governor Srey Sopheak said.
The rocks extended about 55 meters from the riverbank while the landowner was planning to dump them over a length of 294 meters, of which 130 meters had been completed.
The administration said the landowner did not have a permit and issued an immediate order to cease the operation no matter the circumstances.
“The landowner must retrieve all rocks from the river in 70 days and must not spread the rocks into a deeper area to avoid future effects on traffic on the water,” the administration said.
The landowner must report the retrieval every month, while the administration will inspect the location.
If the order is not met, the administration will take legal action against the landowner. Sopheak said the landowner had spoken to the administration and agreed to the conditions.
Kampong Cham administration thanked the public and reporters for providing the information in a timely manner, preventing other actions that are not permitted.
