Aradippou seals off drain used for industrial waste

THE Aradippou municipality has sealed off a water sewer drain, which was repeatedly used to illegally dispose of industrial waste, it announced on Friday.

In a written statement, the municipality said that on instructions from mayor Evangelos Evangelides, and following warnings issued to all stakeholders at an earlier meeting in Larnaca, a municipal team sealed off the drain, the proper function of which was diverting rainwater, on Thursday.

It is thought that the culprit of the wrongful disposal of waste is one of the factories from the adjacent Larnaca industrial area.

“The drain will remain sealed until the source of the problem has been identified and all necessary measures to address it have been taken,” the statement read.

“The Aradippou municipality will control the situation and decide on opening or closing of the drain accordingly, while there is contingency planning for the immediate opening of the drain in case of rain.”

With regard to this decision, Evangelides said that the municipality was left with no option but to take drastic measures in safeguarding the public’s health and quality of life.

“Despite multiple reassurances and ample time allowed, once we realised that no measures were taken and the problem carried on, we took matters in our own hands,” the Aradippou mayor said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.