Cambodia News (Kandal): After a giant landslide occurred of the evening of 24 April 2023, nearly 40 large concrete houses were damaged and many traders' houses almost sank into the Bassac River.
The incident occurred at about 11:50 pm on 24 April along National Road 21A in front of Saang Prek Touch North Market, Prek Koy Commune, Saang District, Kandal Province.

According to the people at the scene of the accident, the landslide occurred on the banks of the Bassac River from Trapeang Chhouk village to Kbal Chroy village, Prek Koy commune, where a residential area of riverbank of more than 500 meters long collapsed. The villagers have been living by the river for 30-40 years and have never seen such an event, and have never expected such a thing to happen because most of the houses were built at least 20 meters from the river.

Residents suspect that the river bank collapse may have been caused by sand dredging, because only recently, before New Year's Day, dredgers were operating in the river next to where the bank collapsed, and until that time, there was no indication that the land was instable. There is even a village market in activity at the spot, where traders sell all kinds of goods, including gold, diamonds, platinum, jewelry, construction materials, electrical equipment and all kinds of appliances.


Mr. Seng Vuth, the Acting Governor of Saang District, confirmed that as of the afternoon of 24 April, 37 houses had been damaged, with 20 to 30 percent of the buildings broken and damaged. However, no one was injured, as the occupants were moved out of the houses, and the district governor and the provincial governor, as well as the Disaster Management Committee, came to assist the residents.

The acting district governor also initially acknowledged that the case may have been caused by sand dredging, and ordered the police force to search for the dredger owners, because no permit has been granted for dredging the river at that site.

Ho hum. Nothing can be done.

willyhilly wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 11:44 am Ho hum. Nothing can be done.

They can post on facebook.

Riverbank Residents Voice Outrage at Damage Caused by Illegal Dredging

Kandal province: The public has already heard about the recent landslide on the banks of the Tonle Bassac River on the afternoon of April 24, 2023, which caused many houses in front of Prek Touch Market to collapse at the same time. The Kandal provincial authorities claimed that the disappearance of people's houses along the river next to National Road 21A in front of Saang North Market was caused by the river level naturally receding.

However, the local people claim that the local catastrophe was caused by sand dredgers, and they say that hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property has been lost because of the illegal sand dredging that took place recently in the river next to the bank that collapsed. Property owners said that people had been living there for many years, and there was no land instability reported by householders before the boat came to dredge sand a few months ago.
What is even more shocking is that the sand dredger did not have a license to come and pump in that part of the river, but because the Kandal provincial authorities were afraid of the power of a big man,(the owner of the sand dredger), they did not say anything, or oversee the work. As a result, the dredger removed an unprecedented amount of sand from the river in front of the market, distabilising a 500 meter stretch of riverbank .


The owner of one of the houses, who has the Facebook account named Leng Ay, showed a video of the scene of his house collapsing, describing his outrage to the governor of Kandal province: "Who is to blame for this ? People have been living here for almost 30 to 40 years and it has never collapsed; but now after two to three months of sand dredging the river, my house has cracked up and has been destroyed."