About 100 Kampong Branak market vendors in Preah Vihear province gathered at the provincial hall for a resolution yesterday morning after they accused the market committee of unduly reducing the size of their stalls to sell space to other vendors.

Vendor Aok Noeun, 44, who has had a stall in Kampong Branak market for nearly 10 years, said she owned two stalls, each 1.5 metres by 3 metres and they were each reduced by about one square metre. “The immediate loss [of space] like this is not proper,” she said.

The market in Preah Vihear province’s Kampong Branak commune in Preah Vihear city underwent massive refurbishment in 2011 and was only reopened recently.

Lor Sochan, a coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said that old vendors have lost their store names and new names replaced them.

Sruy Sati, deputy chief of market committee, said his committee is meeting with the vendors to resolve the problem.

He claimed that his committee did not completely cut the size of the stall and stressed that vendors are allowed to sell at their old places as they requested.

To contact the reporter on this story: Phak Seangly at [email protected]