Residents living along Prek Tnaut river that snakes from Kampong Speu to Kandal say they have mostly stayed away from using the polluted river, but are now seeing it turn an oily black color and smell noxious.
CHBAR MON CITY, Kampong Speu — Waters and spirits were high as the annual Water Festival boat races resumed after a two-year hiatus, bringing thousands to the banks of the Prek Tnaut river to watch competitors soar, or sink, through its currents.
Former Kampong Speu commune chief Kim Tola was arrested trying to fly out of Phnom Penh for travel on Sunday over an incitement conviction from earlier this year.
Collecting jewel orchids has become a new source of income for remote residents in Kampong Speu, worrying botanical experts who warn the rare plant could be picked to extinction.
Repairs and upgrades are finally coming to National Road 4, including for a damaged stretch in Kampong Speu that has seen taxi drivers using detours to avoid potholes.
“If it is a case of robbery or murder, it is suitable to torture for interrogation to find accomplices but this was just a case of throwing stones.”
Residents along the flood-prone Prek Tnaut river have been alerted as water levels rise and an upstream dam has opened its gates to release pressure, while officials have forecasted a surge in the Mekong over the next 3-5 days.
The Metta forest community in Kampong Speu says three Buddha statues around the forest’s pagoda have been destroyed after wind blew down nearby trees, and residents are blaming loggers who they say are continuing to cut down the surrounding forest.
Indigenous Suoy families say they have blocked a company formerly chaired by the prime minister’s nephew Hun Chea from clearing their farmland in Kampong Speu, and are seeking compensation.
A flood-protection project is 70% complete around the site of major Phnom Penh flooding for the past two years, as residents around the Prek Tnaut river remain watchful over the season’s severe rains while water levels creep up.
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