RESIDENTS of Oroklini village in the Larnaca district yesterday held a peaceful demonstration to protest against the operation of a quarry in neighbouring Kellia.
The village’s Community Council, organisations and residents took to the roads leading up to the quarry to raise awareness over the effects it was having on the environment.
Speaking during the protest, community leader Spyros Elenodorou insisted that his residents had no bones to pick with their Kellia neighbours, but added: “If this destruction is taking place for the £30-35,000 they [Kellia residents] are getting, this is something the people should judge.”
He added that the annual budget for Kellia, which used to be a Turkish Cypriot village, was covered by the government. “What happens to all the money they get? Do works actually take place or is the local authority’s aim to deposit the money?”
At the same time, Elenodorou wondered whether the environmental destruction brought on by the quarry was continuing “with the excuse of operations or money?” He added that the Oroklini community was seeking the implementation of a Cabinet decision.
“The quarry is operating illegally in violation of the Cabinet’s decision, which wanted it to stop operations for good on December 31, 2006; there is also a court order, both of which were never adhered to,” Elenodorou explained.
On behalf of Kellia community, the village’s community leader Demetris Assiotis said the residents received a small fund for the quarry, which was used for certain activities in the community.
“There are 14 workers at the quarry, and if it closes down, they will remain without work,” Assiotis said, adding: “The quarry operates entirely on Kellia land and the machinery and material it takes is from Kellia grounds.”
Meanwhile, the Green Party yesterday protested against the construction of a petrol station near the Oroklini River, saying it was going ahead without an environmental study and the completion of building permit procedures.
The party’s general secretary, Giorgos Perdikis, visited the area yesterday morning while works were underway.
“Oroklini River decorates the area; it should be developed and presented for everyone to enjoy; we can’t keep using salami tactics – cutting and destroying it bit by bit – resulting in the loss of the only lung in the area,” said Perdikis.
Elenodorou played down Perdikis’ claims, saying that town-planning permission for the petrol station had been issued in May 2007, while building permission was expected to be issued within the next few days.
“The execution of an environmental study was a matter for the government services,” he said.
Elenodorou added: “We protect the limits of the river, but we can’t deprive neighbouring land owners from the right to develop their land.”
Asked by a reporter to comment on the fact that part of the land on which the station was being built belonged to his father-in-law, Elenodorou replied: “Just because my father-in-law happened to be related to the Oroklini Mukhtar, does that ban him from the right to develop his land?”
