Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Canal residents demand security

Canal residents demand security

Stung Meanchey villagers (right) talk to officials at the Ministry of Land Management yesterday in Phnom Penh.
Stung Meanchey villagers (right) talk to officials at the Ministry of Land Management yesterday in Phnom Penh. Pech Sotheary

Canal residents demand security

Community representatives for more than 400 hundred families living along the Stung Meanchey canal yesterday met with officials from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction as part of an ongoing dispute over a canal renovation project.

The 20 representatives made three requests: They want the right to live legally in the area, they want to be able to develop and renovate their own properties and they want the government to help widen the main road in the area, which they claim is too narrow, according to So Sok, deputy director for the general department of housing at the Land Management Ministry.

However, the area around the canal is under the control of the state, and any decisions on the residents’ requests would depend on the ministers for land management and public works and transport, in addition to the Phnom Penh municipal authority, Sok said.

Community representative Dul Nhearn acknowledged the families lived on state land, but said they had done so for years.

“We live here happily and we do not want to move out since our jobs, schools and hospitals are around here,” Nhearn said.

The meeting took place after the residents filed a request on May 5 to discuss the proposal to renovate the 1,470-metre canal, which they were concerned might have meant that they would have to relocate.

MOST VIEWED

  • 12th Cambodia int’l film festival to see return of Hollywood star

    Phnom Penh is set to come alive with the magic of cinema as the highly anticipated 12th Cambodia International Film Festival (CIFF) takes centre stage. Boasting an impressive line-up of 188 films from 23 countries, including captivating shorts, feature films, documentaries and animation, the festival promises an

  • Bareknuckle champion wants Kun Khmer fighter

    Dave Leduc, who is the current openweight Lethwei boxing champion in Myanmar, has announced that he will travel to Cambodia this year to challenge SEA Games gold medallist Prum Samnang any time that is convenient, after their planned match later this month in Slovakia was

  • Struggling Battambang artist dreams of staging full-scale gallery exhibition

    Leav Kimchhoth, a 55-year-old artist from Battambang province, is a familiar face to locals and tourists alike on the streets of the riverside in Phnom Penh. The one-armed painter and illustrator often hawks his work near the night market on weekends and public holidays. He

  • Fresh Covid warnings as Thai hospital fills

    A senior health official reminds the public to remain vigilant, as neighbouring countries experience an increase in Covid-19 cases, with the latest surge appearing to be a result of the Omicron XBB.1.5 sub-variant. Or Vandine, secretary of state and spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health,

  • 1.4 billion dollar Phnom Penh-Bavet expressway due in four years

    The Government, through the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, has officially signed a public-private partnership agreement with a private company for the construction of a Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway project that will connect the capital to Svay Rieng province. The budget for the project is

  • New Law on Taxation comes into effect

    Cambodia has enacted the eagerly-awaited new Law on Taxation, which aims to improve the national tax regime’s compliance with present and future international standards and economic conditions; encourage accountability, effectiveness and transparency in the collection process; and promote investment in the Kingdom. King Norodom