Residents of Mazotos are calling for immediate intervention by President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides, as they protest the planned construction of a desalination plant on the community’s beach.
The Initiative Group for the Preservation of the Mazotos Coast announced that a new protest rally will take place on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on the Mazotos-Kiti road, across from the gas station located in the community.
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The group’s spokesperson, Eleni Chaili, stated on the Alpha News program that “residents are at their wits’ end” and that the government’s plans are pushing the already burdened area “one step away from the brink.”
Ms. Chaili noted that the Cabinet’s decision last January was made hastily and irregularly, under the weight of the water shortage problem facing the region. Ten months later, Ms. Haili explained that the situation has improved and that second thoughts are being given to other desalination projects. She questioned the authorities’ insistence on building a desalination plant in Mazotos—a pristine area lacking electricity and infrastructure—rather than in Vasilikos, where construction would be less costly.
The spokesperson for the protesting residents accused the government of ignoring the study by marine biologists conducted by the Mazotos Community Council, which demonstrates that there are protected habitats and that a desalination plant is not appropriate.
“They’re making us believe that the world is going to end—that’s not it. Something else is going on.”
