Lorry drivers: Raw human waste spill at Gazimağusa port poses risk of disease
RAW human waste from toilets at Gazimağusa port is spilling out of the sewers, creating a stench and posing a risk of dirt and disease spreading to the town or on to ships heading overseas, it has been claimed.
Lorry drivers using the port said there were just three toilets in the new area of the harbour, and all were filthy and spewed out sewage, especially after heavy rain. They blamed years of neglect and indifference, and urged officials to come and see the longstanding problems for themselves, then come up with urgent solutions.
Mustafa Okan, a driver for 17 years, said the toilet facilities had been opened about five years ago after truckers complained of having to “attend to their needs between containers and the city walls” because no toilets were provided.
However, he said the problem was still not properly solved, and now sewage spilled out from under the manhole covers whenever it rained — a situation which had persisted now for about a fortnight.
Mr Okan said the leaking waste spread a bad smell over the area and posed a health hazard for people.
He added that standard practice was for lorries and other vehicles arriving in countries’ ports from abroad to drive through disinfectant baths to avoid the possibility of spreading diseases from one port to another.
“However what we have here at the Gazimağusa port is totally the opposite of international procedure, with lorries to and from the TRNC going through waste water at the port and before going on to their destinations.
“In this way, they can spread diseases,” he said, adding that this was also causing concern for businesses in the area, and calling on the government to take urgent action.
Driver Yaşar Dertli said he had been travelling to and from the port since he started his job 18 years ago and had seen the same problems for years. He said the toilets had no proper water supply or electricity and the issue had become a talking point among the more than 200 people who pass through the area daily.
Fellow trucker Mustafa Erişen said the sewage stench had become unbearable, and they were forced to endure it as they ate their meals and drank their coffee.
He said he had been to other ports in the world, but had never seen such a poor situation, commenting that at Mersin, on the south coast of Turkey, there was a toilet within 300 metres of the dock, plus others and even shower cabins elsewhere in the port.