Khmer Times —
The government responded to criticism that sand pumping in the Mekong river is more than the amount being reported and that it has increased over recent years.
The reaction is to respond to an article published in Eos, a science news magazine, titled “Satellites Spy on Sand Mining in the Mekong,” that cited research using satellite imagery to track sand mining in a short stretch of the Mekong River in Cambodia.
Mines Ministry’s Mineral Resources director-general Ung Dipola told Khmer Times Thursday that the criticism about sand pumping is because they don’t want to see development in Cambodia.
“There are other developed countries that are pumping more sand than Cambodia. Why don’t they care? This is the question,” said Dipola.