B’bang ancient lake restored
AUTHORITIES in Battambang province’s Ek Phnom district have been given permission to begin restoration of Takom Lake, a 10ha ancient lake located in the district’s Peam Ek commune. The area will be redeveloped as a resort and reservoir to create jobs and serve local communities.
District governor Mil Sophal told The Post on December 3 that the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts decided in May this year to allow the restoration project. Three hectares of land adjacent the lake have been reserved for planting a garden of 2,000 trees of various types to promote local beautification and eco-tourism. The project is due to be completed early next year.
Sophal said the Takom Lake area, located near the Ek Phnom Krom temple and under the culture ministry’s management, contained an ancient lake that ran dry. Restoration is being funded by a development firm and work is now approximately 70 per cent complete.
“We have dug the bottom of the la ke to 6m in depth. When t he restoration work is finished, t he la ke will contain about 420,000 cubic metres of water usable by hundreds of loca l people liv ing in t he surrounding v illages and ot her areas,” he said.
Prov incia l culture department director Kim Sophorn said t he district administration initia lly requested to excavate to a depth of only 5m, and of ficia ls of t he ministr y’s General Department of Heritage have expressed concern at t he discrepancy, requesting an env ironmental impact assessment to confirm that the nearby temple would not be adversely af fected.
Culture ministr y spokesman Long Ponna Sirivat h said t he restoration of t he la ke area is an env ironmenta l conser vation project intended to confer benefits to t he loca l people. As such, it should not af fect ot her heritage sites, and t he ministr y will monitor t he progress to ensure its safet y.