Around 50 residents from two Phnom Penh communities affected by the railway development in Toul Kork, and construction of a 1,600-meter concrete road in Dangkor District, gathered at the City Hall on June 19 to demand for land titles, citing concerns over eviction, flooding, and poor access.
Residents from Village 23, who live along the railway line, said although they met the officials previously, including deputy governor Sok Penhvuth, who promised them hard title deeds, there has been no progress so far.
Horn Pov, 50, said the main goal of Village 23 is to request the Phnom Penh municipality, which is developing the site, for title deeds as they are worried about being evicted from the area they have been living in since 1987. This is not the first time the residents submitted a letter urging the municipality to resolve the issue.
“I met with the officials this morning because they said the public office will come to do measure. I expect [the problem will be resolved] 50% or less because it has been going on for a long time. In the past, they told us to keep quiet as a technical team will come and measure it, asking us to wait a little longer,” Pov said.
Pov stated that if the authorities only built a 13.5-meter concrete road, it will not affect the people’s homes, so she expects the municipal authorities and relevant officials to help solve this problem for the people soon.
At the City Hall to follow up on the letter, the residents said they met the City Hall officials and Daun Penh district authorities.
“I have forwarded the documents to the authorities. Tomorrow [Friday] or the day after, the documents might come to my hand and I will update you. We will urge the relevant authorities to respond as soon as possible,” an officer from the City Hall told villagers.
Meanwhile, the community from Damnak Sangke village, Prek Kampeus commune, Dangkor district gathered outside the City Hall to follow up on a request they made on June 3, 2024 with the Phnom Penh governor. They hope that authorities will expedite the construction of a 1,600-meter concrete road and a sewage system to facilitate travel, proper sanitation, and safety.
The residents told CamboJA News that they have asked for an update many times, but officials have repeatedly told them that the budget for the project has not been allocated.
Khun Chantha, 42, who works as a tuk-tuk driver, told CamboJA News that they want a concrete road because the current one is badly damaged and made it difficult for people to travel for work and business, and for children to go to school.
“This road has been damaged for 10 years already, and when it rains it makes it difficult to travel, especially school going kids — they cannot ride [their bikes] smoothly. So, we want a new road, so we can live comfortably,” said Chantha.
Besides the damaged road, there is no drainage system, so it floods when it rains heavily, he added.
According to Chantha, there is no intervention from the commune and they have never rebuilt this road, only done minor repairs, but this has not solved the problem. Thus, the residents are requesting the City Hall to allocate funds to build the road for the benefit of the families in Damnak Sangke Village.
Regarding the concrete road, Dor Samphors, spokesperson for Phnom Penh City Hall, told CamboJA News that they will study its priority and feasibility. He said the City Hall applies for a budget package from the government every year, so the residents’ request will require time as well as time for experts to study the proposal.
“The governor has assigned experts to examine the issue to see how far it has progressed as each construction project must have a budget.
“We have our annual plan. So, we ask the citizens to understand the administrative management process because from year to year we have to increase the budget plan and the government will approve our projects, what to do first and what to do next,” said Samphors.
