Girne American University carried out a panel for the Word Water Day with the participation of the Ministry of Tourism undersecretary İsmet Esenyel, The Mayor of Girne Nidai Güngördü, The representative of the general directorate of state hydraulic works (DSİ) Yusuf Şahir, The president of The Association of the citrus producers Ali Alioğlu.

The panel which was organized by journalist Hasan Erçakıca took place in the Millenium senate congress hall with the participation of the academic and administrative staff and also the students.

In the opening speech, The Rector of GAU Prof. Dr. Kutsal Öztürk stated, “While there is a big diamond in today’s picture, there is a bottle of water in 2050’s picture. So, the importance of water is always obvious” he said.

The representative of DSİ TRNC Yusuf Şahin stated in his speech, “water is the basic need for all creatures and it has the feature of being source for basic economic activities, so that it is an irreplaceable source for people’s future” he said. He also added that Turkey general directorate of state hydraulic works (DSİ) carried out the project From Turkey to TRNC, which brings continuous water, and that the project works uneventfully.

In his speech the mayor of Girne Nidai Güngördü said that it doesn’t matter where the water comes from, people are only concerned about the water bill. In the rest of his speech, he stated:

“This creates a discussion from the point of citizens. We aim for both continuous and quality water. I believe that in time we won’t need water tanks and engines. Water will come to our houses with the baseline. We don’t do enough water treatment in Girne, our treatment facility’s capacity in Girne is not enough. I believe that there are various methods to fix these”.

The president of the association of the citrus producers Ali Alioğlu stated that, in the light of the studies they carried out on how much water is needed and how water can be efficient when used in the right amount in irrigated farming, they started applying it in citrus gardens, and that a one-acre citrus garden would need about 900-1000 tons of water. Alioğlu also underlined that citrus isn’t a waste of produce, but an exported good.

In his speech, the Ministry of Tourism undersecretary İsmet Esenyel said that if there a is development in a country, this development must be smooth. This development is in a disturbing position and enviable situation. There is a point that upsets me. This development may be a skewed development. This country can’t be ruled with a perspective just like it was ruled in the English period. So, we will augment our waters and clean our seas. If we can’t do these, we can’t be a government.