Riverbank Collapse Prompts Dredging Complaint

More than 300 Kandal province villagers have filed a complaint with Sa’ang district officials over sand dredging along the Bassac river after riverbanks in their village collapsed, district governor Khim Chankiri said yesterday. Mr. Chankiri said, however, that the sand dredging operation along the Bassac River did not cause the riverbanks to collapse. “The bank collapse is not caused by sand dredging, but from natural causes,” he said. Mr. Chankiri said that though the complaint contained the signatures of 380 villagers from Prek Koy commune’s Prek Tachrouk village, he did not believe all of the signatures were genuine. According to Sok Song, assistant to commune chief Tam Vong, villagers in Prek Tachrouk village are concerned that if the dredging continues it would cause damage to their homes and farmland located along the Bassac river. He said there is one dredging boat that transfers sand to 10 other boats before heading down the river for local sale. …