Residents from villages 16 and 17 who have been affected by the railway development project in the capital’s Tuol Kork district met with municipal hall officials to discuss the plans for their relocation to Kandal province or Phnom Penh’s Kambol district.

The meeting took place on September 27 with three representatives of the 30 families involved in the dispute stemming from their proposed relocation from the villages in the district’s Boeung Kak II and Teuk La’ak communes.

Huy Sathean, one of the representatives, told The Post that the discussion was held at their request to ask the municipality for compensation for their homes which it plans to demolish to make way for infrastructure like roads and reservoirs.

” We don’t oppose the development, but we are asking to make a deal that allows us to continue to live in Tuol Kork district near the Tuol Oslok pagoda,” she said.

Sathean said the 30 families were making the request because they did not want to move away from the area as some of them had livelihoods based there and their children attended school nearby.

Tuol Kork district governor Chea Pisey told The Post on September 27 that they will hold further talks with the affected families to try and solve the problem to everyone’s satisfaction.

Soeung Saran, executive director of Sahmakum Teangtnaut, said authorities should find a solution acceptable to all.

” When there is a solution according to a win-win strategy, the people will happily accept it in peace. The authorities themselves will then be commended accordingly for addressing the problems impacting their local people,” Saran said.