WATER CUTS could never be a popular measure, but Agriculture Minister Michalis Polynikis was correct in wanting to keep them in place. Despite the increased flow of water to the dams, thanks to the rainfall of the previous three months, the few weeks have been warm and dry and the minister has decided on a cautious approach. The continuation of the cuts was finalised at meeting of the minister with the bosses of the Water Boards yesterday.
Given the water shortage problems of the past, it would have been reckless to lift all restrictions. Households enjoyed a continuous water supply since mid-December, but showed no inclination to be economical in their water use. It was reported that about 15 per cent more water was used than in the corresponding period of 2007 when there were no cuts, indicating that, given the opportunity, people had no qualms about wasting water.
The radio advertisements, giving people tips on saving water obviously had little effect. However, the ministry should not give up its campaign because, gradually, some people will develop a water-saving conscience. If anything, the campaign should be stepped up and extended to more media because it is the only way to get to more people and change habits in the long term.
But for now, it seems that the only way to save water is through the unpopular and backward measure of water cuts. The experience of the holiday period, during which people happily reverted to mindlessly wasting water showed that we have yet to develop a water-saving conscience. Under the circumstances, it would not be prudent to lift all the restrictions, before our dams were full or at least the new desalination plant was nearing completion.
Our View II: Parking is not a human right
THE FIRST thing Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis was asked when he arrived at the new premises of the Immigration Department in the grounds of Nicosia’s old general hospital was where visitors would park their cars. The parking spaces in the hospital grounds were just about adequate for the department’s staff and visitors had trouble finding anywhere close by to park their cars.
Of course it is all a matter of expectations and Cypriot drivers seem to believe that it is their human right to park right outside the place they are visiting. This was why they complained to the minister on Thursday. Having to park a few minutes’ walk away from their destination is considered a very big inconvenience and people often leave their car on the pavement or on a double yellow line.
The truth is there is no shortage of parking spaces in the area around the old hospital, as long as people are prepared to walk a few hundred metres. It is time we accepted that parking outside the place we want to visit, particularly in the centre of town, is not a human right and the state has no obligation to provide a parking spaces at every department that a citizen might need to visit.
