Authorities Seize Excavators Constructing Illegal Reservoirs

Kompong Thom provincial military police confiscated 29 excavators and arrested four drivers in a four-day operation ending yesterday aimed at stopping the illegal construction of reservoirs around the Tonle Sap lake, officials said. The reservoirs, which are used to retain water for use in dry-season farming, are blamed for reducing fish populations by wiping out vital breeding areas at the edges of the lake. Construction on them has persisted despite periodic crackdowns by authorities attempting to enforce a 2009 ban. …