Epress.am News from Armenia
The Greens Party has called for 2 million Istanbul residents to gather at the Bosphorus on Oct. 2 to protest the construction of a third bridge over the Istanbul Strait which will allegedly result in the cutting down of 2 million trees, reports Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Citing an official document, Greens Party representative Ümit Şahin told a Thursday press conference in Istanbul that more than 2 million trees in the northern part of the city would be cut because of the third bridge.
“We received a document prepared by Istanbul Regional Forestry Directorate to be submitted to the Environment and Forestry Ministry. It says that 1.6 million trees on the [proposed] route of third bridge are going to be cut down if the project is carried out,” he said.
“So far 896,000 trees between the Hasdal and Tayakadın access roads have been cut down. That means the third bridge will entail the cutting down of over 2 million trees in Istanbul,” Şahin said, adding that a total of 16 million square meters of forested area would be damaged, according to the document.
Not only trees but waterbeds and animal habitats will be demolished as well, Şahin said, adding that areas used by migratory birds would be polluted and that the forest would not be able to stop dust brought by the northern winds.
Serkan Köybaşı, a campaign coordinator of the Greens Party, called on residents of Istanbul to gather on the Bosphorus on Oct. 2 at 8 p.m., and light candles to raise awareness of the threat to the trees.
Şahin said he believed the government and the transportation minister would take the protest seriously if millions of Istanbul residents voiced their objection to the third bridge.
The Greens Party is organizing the call for protest through websites such as www.2milyonistanbullu.com. Those who want to contribute can also donate money or sign the petition online through the website.