07.05.2022
The fight against the landslide phenomenon in the municipality of Aglancia is progressing at a snail’s pace since the first fallen rocks considered dangerous were recorded in 2004. Although the Ministry of the Interior was informed by the affected municipality at the time, the Project is currently underway and is expected to be completed around 2026.
However, the works that have been funded and implemented are limited to public land, with the result that the phenomenon persists on private land. Aglancia Mayor Andreas Constantinou told F that they sent a request to the ministry so that the work could be extended to all neighborhoods. He also mentioned that some families “live in fear because their houses are a meter away from the rocks.” However, he stressed, the landslides did not endanger any human life, not excluding the possibility of similar occurrences in the future, as the phenomenon intensified.
In particular, Mr. Constantinou mentions that the first landslides were recorded in 2004. In June of the same year, the Municipality of Aglantzias sent photographs informing the Ministry of the Interior about the problem, as well as a request for a study.
As he explained, the preparation of the study, which was completed in 2017, was allocated €65,000. In it, the total cost of the stabilization project in the public and private blocks facing the problem is €1.08 million. Finally, work began in during 2021.
“The project received 560,000 euros and is designed for five years, while we are talking only about state blocks. For this reason, after the last landslides that occurred at the end of 2021, as the municipality of Aglancia, we sent a request to the Ministry of the Interior asking for the approval of an additional fund that will also cover private plots (as predicted by the study). The cost is sufficient.”
According to him, the project is divided into three stages. The start is made from red dots, which are also considered more dangerous. The first stage concerns the wider area of Skali. The second stage is the Pernera area. The third stage is the area of Andreas Kalvos and Tripoleos streets.
“Landslides happen from time to time, and this is a particular concern for the municipality,” he said, noting that before the municipality started these projects, they also took other measures to limit the phenomenon of landslides.
Landslides, he stressed, are caused by soil erosion, changing weather conditions, construction and work on the ground. “For this reason, as a further measure, we have agreed with the Department of Urban Development at the end of 2021 not to issue a new permit for the construction of new buildings in hazardous areas until a study by the Department of Urban Development. Geological exploration, where it turns out that there are no problems.” Another action by the municipality is that over the past five years, owners have been asked to submit a geotechnical study before proceeding with redevelopment in the area. “We increased the conditions under which you can build by looking at the stability of rocks.”
