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Assistance so that a decision can be sought from the banks for all those affected by the Pissouri landslide area, regarding facilities for their loans, residents of the area are asking the Parliament, while the Pissouri community leader is concerned about any delays in projects to deal with the phenomenon.
The problems created by the ongoing retreat of the subsoil in the Pissouri community were discussed by the Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs on Thursday, with Village Commune Chief, Lazaros Lazarou, warning that any delay in the projects could lead to a worsening of the situation.
In statements after the meeting, Lazarou expressed their thanks to the Minister of Interior and the state in general for starting the shoring project, and welcomed the progress.
He also expressed their concerns, however, in not having a gap between the first and second phase of the project, "because we believe that it may also call into question its effectiveness."
He said they sent the message that as a community, "we demand the uninterrupted continuation of this project and we thank all those who share this view and are working towards it."
Asked about the ETEK view, expressed at the meeting, that it is better to have a period of four to six months between the first and second phases to see whether the projects are effective, Mr. Lazarou said they were "surprised" to hear the view of the NRC, which he said had been absent during the eight previous meetings with the commission and other bodies on the issue to express some views.
"We now find their interest very late and we are concerned that their attempt to find some better solution might hinder or delay the good solution that seems to have begun to pay off," he said. He added that local residents are finding that the work that has already been done is having some effect.
Even six months of delay, he said, is too significant to make the situation even worse.
Asked if they knew that the area was not suitable for housing construction, he said that most of the people who built in the area were from Pissouri, and that if they had the slightest idea that probably after 30 years this phenomenon would occur, they would not have built. "Of course they didn't know, but neither did those in charge, they had no idea" when the area was included in the residential zone, he said.
He said that over 20 houses have been deemed unfit[/B] and residents have been asked to vacate them, but several others have been severely damaged.
According to representative of the Pissouri Residents Initiative Group, Georgia Ellina Zoi, about 250 homes have been affected.
Ms. Zoi said they raised two issues with the committee. The first concerns the loans of people who have been forced out of their homes, and who are now paying rent but their instalments are running up. She said they had asked the banks to suspend the instalments, but because a long period of time has passed the banks have now come back and are asking for the instalments again. "We have requested assistance so that a decision can be sought from the banks altogether for all those affected in the Pissouri landslide area," he added.
The second issue they have raised, he said, has to do with the security of the houses, which have been abandoned but are full of stuff, and there are too many thefts. He said they are calling the police, "who are refusing to intervene on the merits, so we have asked the committee and those present on behalf of the government to take some measures to protect these properties."
On the issue of the works being done, he explained that Phase I is not about the landslide area but the area outside it so that it does not expand.
The work that concerns the landslide area, he said, is the construction of the antibarrier, some piling within the landslide area, which will reduce the pressure on that whole area, and water management works which has two origins, he said, from rain and sewage, as there is no drainage system.
Ms Zoi said that whenever there is a very wet winter in Cyprus there are rapid movements in the area, which has been residentially developed for the last 30 years without a sewerage system. Already, she added, since 2012 the Department of Geological Survey, the first thing they had proposed was stormwater management, but still nothing has been done. It has also been proposed by an expert called by the community council to remove rainwater with tankers to reduce the burden on the area, but this has not gone ahead either, he added.
The DISY MP, Nikos Sykas, said in a statement, "we are moving towards a happy ending to solve the problem of landslides."
He said he was pleased to be informed that the works are going well both in terms of timelines and quality."
Figs, said that as DISY, they will be watching to ensure that there is no delay in the commencement of work on Phase B which is the phase, he said, during which all the infrastructure and support activities will be put in place "to help finally solve the problem in Pissouri." He said that Phase B is of the order of €35 million or so before the update, adding that "it is an issue that is getting underway."
Asked if they disagreed with the ETEC's view to wait, he said they neither agreed nor disagreed, and that they would wait for the next meeting because "there is an issue." They will have to see, he said, whether the study done over the last two years, including by members of the ETEC, demonstrates that there should be a delay because the project will be more efficient, or whether the public interest and the problems that the Pissouri area and its residents are likely to have further should be taken into account.
Source: CNA
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