Citing low water levels of the Tonle Sap as the cause, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday justified his decision to call off the upcoming Water Festival in Phnom Penh in a speech in Kampot, even as some observers suggested political concerns motivated the event’s abrupt cancellation.
The decision, announced on Saturday, came as an unexpected about-face less than two weeks after the premier personally promised the festival would go on, regardless of the drought, and admonished local authorities to prepare to handle the influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors that the annual event brings.
However, observers said yesterday, it was precisely that influx – coming amidst one of the most politically tense periods in the last year – that the government was hoping to avoid by cancelling the festival.
“The reason why [it was cancelled] is that we usually race the boats in Phnom Penh when the water level is at least between 7 metres and 8 metres, but the water level in Phnom Penh today is only 5.07 metres,” Hun Sen said yesterday.
Further justifying the decision, Hun Sen noted that areas along the river lack adequate water to farm rice, and ordered the Ministry of Economy and Finance to reallocate the festival’s budget to buy fuel to operate water pumps that would irrigate dry rice fields.
Having consulted with the Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology, he said, the water level of the Tonle Sap will have fallen to 4.2 metres by the time of the Water Festival
source : phnom penh post
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