River-widening project to displace 600 families

More than 600 families living along the Siem Reap riverside are to be relocated at the beginning of next year by the government, a top provincial official said yesterday. The families will be evicted as part of a provincial government plan to widen the river to alleviate regular flooding in the town, in addition to constructing communal gardens on the riverside, Siem Reap deputy governor So Platong told the Post. … Platong added that government buildings sitting along the riverside would also have to be relocated, including the Siem Reap police station and commune office. Residents will be forced to move from a five-kilometre stretch of riverside starting from the Kong Much pagoda near the centre of town to the village of Chong Srok. …

Thik Kaliyann
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/river-widening-project-displace-600-families