GOVT ‘LIED’ ON ROAD SCHEME
PROTESTERS brought traffic on a main road connecting towns and villages to Girne to a standstill yesterday as they accused the government of reneging on promises to turn it into a dual carriageway.
Local politicians joined hundreds of angry and placard-waving residents from Alsancak, Lapta, Karşıyaka, Karaoğlanoğlu, Malatya and İncesu in demanding the promised road-widening to ease congestion.
They gathered at the Escape beach car park before temporarily blocking the single-carriageway route during the morning rush- hour. A banner unfurled by Alsancak Municipality, which organised the protest, said: “Oh new government, lend us an ear! We demand a safe road.”
Speaking to Cyprus-Today , Alsancak Mayor Fırat Ataser said the continuing lack of a dual carriageway meant “misery” for commuters in the region.
He accused outgoing Transport Minister Kemal Dürüst — who failed to be re-elected in last week’s general election — of “lying” when he said in November that work to widen the 10km stretch of road, announced in June last year, would be begin “imminently”.
“The elections have been held, the 2018 [state] budget [still] has to be passed. No-one is talking about a budget for our dual carriageway and infrastructure,” he said, adding: “Alsancak is unique because we have some 12,000 residents, thousands of tourists and expats, sea and mountain natural beauty . . . and we want to make Alsancak the centre of tourism.”
He warned that failure to upgrade the road would lead to fed-up residents “abandoning” Alsancak and would hinder local economic and tourism growth.
He said he had called the protest as a way to ensure that the “plight of the people of this region” is heard, following consultations with Lapta Mayor Fuat Namsoy and other local officials and members of the public last August.
Mr Ataser continued: “We call on the new government to hear us and take concrete action . . . I am ready as Alsancak mayor to do whatever it takes. We have massive projects . . . but these won’t have any meaning if our roads aren’t sufficient.”
Social Democratic Party Girne MP Zeki Çeler, who was at yesterday’s protest, told this newspaper: “It’s a disgrace that the residents of this region have had to protest once again for their human rights: the right to commute without undergoing horror and misery on a daily basis.
“We stand fully by the mayor and the public. These roads are insufficient in handling the [traffic] that has come about from the population explosion in the region.”
Local İzzet Kılıç said: “It takes over an hour to commute from Alsancak to Girne in the mornings . . . We are angry because of the lack of action. We are supposed to be living in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, but it has been turned into misery and chaos in terms of the traffic. Enough.”
Cyprus Today last June quoted Mr Namsoy as saying officials from Turkey had agreed to fund the road-widening scheme with a view to completing the work by next month.
Asked to respond to Mr Ataser’s accusations of untruthfulness, Mr Namsoy said last night that “promises have been kept”.
“We are now at the stage of re-routing water and electricity from the road. Without this being done, construction work cannot start,” he said.
“Two days ago we had a meeting and Mr Ataser and I were made aware of the plans for the dual carriageway. Mr Ataser is aware that the finance will be provided by the Turkish [aid delegation], and that the TRNC 2018 state budget will not have funds set aside for this. Needless to say a new government hasn’t even been formed yet.
“However, he insisted on carrying out the protest even though we have been in consultations with the respective ministry and [been] updated on what is happening.”