AROUND 20 vendors living alongside a stretch of National Road 1 in Chbar Ampov commune in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district said Monday that they had complained to the commune chief after being warned that parts of their houses will be dismantled to ease traffic congestion.

Residents said they were informed by local authorities last week that extensions built onto their homes that have been converted into general stores had to be dismantled because they were obstructing the road.

Sea Sochandy, one of the residents who stands to be affected, said the authorities had warned her that they would confiscate her goods if she did not dismantle her shop.

“To dismantle my extension really means to take my job away from me,” she said.

Chbar Ampov commune chief Pov Huot rejected accusations that local officials intended to confiscate vendors’ goods.

“We ask them to take out any house extensions which stick out into the road, and things they display on the roadside, so that public order can be ensured,” he said, adding that the house extensions would need to be dismantled soon anyway to make way for an expansion of the road from 15 metres wide to 25 metres wide, which he said would take place “in the near future”.

“We want people to be informed in advance so that they can be ready for the removal,” he said.

Pov Huot said the widening project would affect a stretch of road between Koki market in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district and the Monivong Bridge in Phnom Penh.