By Mondol Keo
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
7 families living in a village community located in Sangkat Boeng Kak 2, Khan Tuol Kok, Phnom Penh, have accused the authority of colluding with a company to grab a road belonging to them.
Som Sovuthy, the representative of the 7 families, claimed that he lived in this area since 1992. He said that the land he lived on used to belong to soldiers’ families, and he bought the land from them when it was just still a swampy area without any road for traveling. The villagers proceeded to build a road and they have already installed sewers, but currently, the authority, in collusion with the owner of the Canadia Bank, dug the road to install new sewers, and removed all the old severs, and turn the sewer alignment into a road which now owned by the owner of the Canadia Bank instead.
Som Sovuthy said: “People live here peacefully and even the people living in Village No. 1 were allowed to (settle and) develop on the spot they occupied. When the Canadia Bank company purchased all the lands from in front and behind the army base, they started stirring up people, and they do not allow people to live peacefully.”
Seng Chanthy, a woman living there, chimed in: “The people have no objection, but the people ask that they reinstall back the sewers along the old alignment.”
The Canadia Bank company could not be contacted on 14 May.
Huong Sreng, the deputy district governor of Tuol Kok, declined to answer RFA question over the phone on 14 May afternoon, but, Man Choeun, the deputy governor of the city of Phnom Penh explained that all of this issue is not like what the villagers accused, and he also said that there was no collusion with the company. He said that the installation of sewers is purely a technical issue, and the city only wants to avoid having the city flooded during rainy seasons.
Man Chhoeun said: “These are directives for the development of the city, I do not know much (about the technical issue), I only listen to the experts in public works. They went to school and they told us what to do in order to prevent the city from flooding, so they just did that.”
Nhem Saron, the director of the public works department of the city of Phnom Penh, turned off his phone when he was contacted by RFA in the afternoon 14 May, and when RFA asked him about the problem of sewer installation. However, an anonymous official involved with sewer technical issues, said that the sewer installation in the Village No. 1 community, Sangkat Boeng Kak 2, is somewhat murky and mysterious because the new sewers can be installed along the old alignment as well.
Som Sovuthy, the representative of the 7 families, claimed that he lived in this area since 1992. He said that the land he lived on used to belong to soldiers’ families, and he bought the land from them when it was just still a swampy area without any road for traveling. The villagers proceeded to build a road and they have already installed sewers, but currently, the authority, in collusion with the owner of the Canadia Bank, dug the road to install new sewers, and removed all the old severs, and turn the sewer alignment into a road which now owned by the owner of the Canadia Bank instead.
Som Sovuthy said: “People live here peacefully and even the people living in Village No. 1 were allowed to (settle and) develop on the spot they occupied. When the Canadia Bank company purchased all the lands from in front and behind the army base, they started stirring up people, and they do not allow people to live peacefully.”
Seng Chanthy, a woman living there, chimed in: “The people have no objection, but the people ask that they reinstall back the sewers along the old alignment.”
The Canadia Bank company could not be contacted on 14 May.
Huong Sreng, the deputy district governor of Tuol Kok, declined to answer RFA question over the phone on 14 May afternoon, but, Man Choeun, the deputy governor of the city of Phnom Penh explained that all of this issue is not like what the villagers accused, and he also said that there was no collusion with the company. He said that the installation of sewers is purely a technical issue, and the city only wants to avoid having the city flooded during rainy seasons.
Man Chhoeun said: “These are directives for the development of the city, I do not know much (about the technical issue), I only listen to the experts in public works. They went to school and they told us what to do in order to prevent the city from flooding, so they just did that.”
Nhem Saron, the director of the public works department of the city of Phnom Penh, turned off his phone when he was contacted by RFA in the afternoon 14 May, and when RFA asked him about the problem of sewer installation. However, an anonymous official involved with sewer technical issues, said that the sewer installation in the Village No. 1 community, Sangkat Boeng Kak 2, is somewhat murky and mysterious because the new sewers can be installed along the old alignment as well.
