Villagers Say Homes Being Purposely Flooded

More than 120 families in Phnom Penh’s Dangkao district sent a letter on Monday to the district governor asking for his help in addressing the flooding problem that has seen some of their homes collapse and has forced many to seek temporary accommodation elsewhere, villagers said. What used to be a pond tufted with morning glory is now a 10-hectare expanse of water that villagers say has been deliberately inundated by a government official who claims ownership over the land. … According to the villagers, a company belonging to an official has been dredging the pond to sell the sand leaving a 10-hectare lake in its wake. … Thirty-three-year-old Hak Choumreth, another villager whose home has been swamped, said that on Tuesday morning two representatives of the firm carrying out the dredging came to his home to persuade him to sell his land. “They asked me how much I want but I said I couldn’t sell as I needed to discuss with my family and other villagers. Anyway, the price they offered was so cheap that I couldn’t do much with the money,” Mr. Choumreth said. …

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