Supermarket owner blocks road

A supermarket owner in a Nicosia village temporary closed off the road in front of his shop on Friday as a mark of protest after the government repossessed and closed his business.

Police were called to the scene in Peristerona village after the supermarket owner parked two cars in the middle of the road, blocking other vehicles.

Though the protest didn’t last long, the interior ministry later issued a statement outlining why they had repossessed and closed his supermarket, which was on Turkish Cypriot property.

According to the ministry, the owner was granted a building permit in 1988 for an area of 216 square meters.

Over the years however, the owner has made arbitrary extensions on his own initiative that extend the space to 1,036 square meters.

The ministry said his move to quintuple his property without the necessary permits led to 14 charges against him by the Nicosia district office.

The owner was repeatedly warned to demolish the extensions and comply with the law to no avail, as all warning were ignored.

According to the ministry’s statement, the attorney-general also weighed in on the matter on April 20 this year and in a letter said “it is unacceptable that until today the illegal constructions have neither been recovered or demolished.”

The Nicosia district office has also reported the case to police as the owner has apparently breached the fence placed around the supermarket and continued operating his business.

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