Water fun to flow

Cambodia’s annual Water Festival will go forward as usual this November after a two-year hiatus, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced at the groundbreaking of a new sports complex on April 12, according to state media.

The festival, which coincides with the yearly reversal of the flow of the Tonle Sap river, includes boat races and fireworks, and draws throngs of spectators to the capital from across the country.

This year’s celebration will be the first since 2010, when more than 350 people were killed in a stampede on an overcrowded bridge connecting Koh Pich to the Tonle Bassac’s west bank.

In 2011, authorities cancelled the festival due to wide-spread flooding that claimed hundreds of lives, and last year, festivities were cancelled due to the death of King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

Spokesmen for the Phnom Penh municipality and the National Police could not be reached for comment yesterday.