The Sisophon town hall in Banteay Meanchey province has ordered the Tan Kim Eng Co Ltd construction company to remove 10m of soil it dumped in the Sisophon River in Preah Ponlea commune.

Sisophon town governor Hoel Raya told The Post on Tuesday that he had checked the location where part of the Sisophon River was filled in.

He said authorities will monitor the situation until the Sisophon River is back to its original state.

He warned companies against filling rivers, ponds, lakes and canals, which are State properties. All activities related to rivers, water reservoirs, lakes or ponds must have legal permission, he said.

“We do not allow filling land or any development along the river. The company bulldozed the land to fill the river. We require them to put the land back,” he said.

Commune chief Mom Bunna said on Tuesday the company filled Sisophon River with 10m of soil.

“I announced already the river belongs to the State. Citizens nearby use water from there and it is a water release site as well as a reservoir. If we fill the river citizens will have no water to use,” Bunna said.

Tan Kim Eng general manager Kim Huot ordered his workers to urgently remove the soil from the river.

Heng Vuthy, the firm’s supervisor in charge of digging, said on Tuesday his company agreed to remove land from the river and maintain its original state as instructed.

“The company bulldozed its own farmland nearby but the driver did not know the exact boundary so he dumped the soil into this river.

“We are putting the land back. However, it has been raining for several days which makes it hard. The company has agreed with the authorities already. We will remove the soil,” he said.