Akdoğan mayor defends the felling of 40 trees
THE mayor of Akdoğan has defended a decision to cut down 40 trees to make way for a new children’s park.
Ahmet Latif issued a statement via social media on Tuesday after press reports said the cypress trees — planted in the village 40 years ago — had been “massacred within three hours”, causing “anger” among villagers.
He said that felling the trees had been deemed “necessary” for “public safety” reasons because they sometimes came into contact with overhead electricity cables, causing power cuts in the Mesaoria village.
Mr Latif said the decision had been taken following consultations with officials at the Forestry Department and that he had been left with no other choice. He claimed the trees had been cut down to their stumps, which would then be allowed to grow back as hedges.
“After we consulted the experts at the Forestry Department, we were informed that cypress trees . . . would grow back fast if we just pruned them and will continue to cause problems for the electricity cables,” Mr Latif said.
“So we were told [to cut] them to 30cm above the ground and then they will grow back in a short period of time.”
He added: “I respect the sensitivity and reaction shown by the people, yet I do not think that people have the right to put children’s lives in danger by ignoring the realities . . . The area has been neglected for years and our council is aiming to create a healthy and safe environment where our children can enjoy playing.” Mr Latif said he had been “saddened” to be labelled as a person who had “massacred” trees, adding that he had planted “25,000 saplings” over the last threeand-a-half years.
“I would like to mention that our projects aim to upgrade the standards of living for the residents of the village,” he said.