Fethiye Times News – what has been going on in Fethiye and around the region.
Turkey to announce new tourism-boosting measures
Reuters News Agency announced on Friday that Turkey is poised to announce a new package of measures to boost the flagging tourism industry.
Tourism revenue in Turkey had dropped 35.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, its sharpest fall in 17 years, amid increased security fears following a series of bomb attacks.
The Turkish Government introduced a number of measures to boost the flagging tourism industry back in April this year.
One of those measures was the payment of a $6,000 (4,600 GBP) subsidy to airlines per flight to fly to Antalya, Alanya, Dalaman, Bodrum and Izmir.
Those subsidies are due to end on 31 August and airlines are seeking certainty for the future.
The Politics of Water
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The price of water hit the top of the local political agenda last week when the Mayor of Fethiye hit back at the regional council for hiking prices yet again.
The Mayor of Muğla Metropolitan Municiplity Mr Osman Gürün spoke on TV in response to questions being raised about the cost of water in which he said: “You cannot do politics over water”.
Discussing the recent huge hike in the cost of water he continued, “Muğla Metropolitan Municipality is one of the authorities charging the lowest rate for water.”
Following Mayor Osman Gürün’s statement about the extraordinary increase in the price of water, Behçet Saatçı, the Mayor of Fethiye, held a press conference, during which he voiced his concerns.
Fethiye’s Natural Resource
Mayor Behçet Saatçı showed the reporters the water tariff for 2013 and made the following comments:
“Water is our most essential and natural requirement. Our water is supplied from Çayözü at Eşen. I drink the tap water. This is furnished by the use of gravity.”
“Until 2013 the cost of a ton of water (1 cubic metre) was 1.03 TL. We charged 1.40 TL for residential property, 1.80 TL for commercial premises, 1.70 TL for construction sites and 1 TL for government offices. With this income we paid back the credit extended to us by the German Development Bank and constructed infrastructural facilities for 15 districts. In other words, with the sale of water we both provided services to Fethiye, paid back our credit and still made a profit.”
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Mayor Saatçı continued:
“Mr. Osman Gürün says you cannot do politics over water. That is not true. Politics is part of life. Everything is politics from the day we are born to the day we die. In other words, there is politics in water, the price of bus tickets and the charges for the sewer system.”
“….. If the Metropolitan Municipality had been involved in a serious investment, renewed all the infrastructural facilities of the whole town, built up a new sewer system for Fethiye and had installed new pipelines like we did in 2014 from Çaygözü, in collaboration of the State Waterworks; if they had used credit for these and had to increase the price of water for repayment, it would have been acceptable.”
- image credits Fethiye Municipality Press Office
The Price of Water in Fethiye
“However, it is clearly evident that the Metropolitan Municipality has not provided any infrastructural facilities during the last 30 months, apart from local renewal of pipelines in some villages.”
“Yet they have raised the price of water to 4.36 TL for residences, to 7.78 TL for offices, to 7.56 TL for construction sites and to 6.92 TL for government offices.”
“In other words the increase in price has been 423% for homes, 755% for offices, 734% for construction sites and 672% for government offices.”
The first image shows the mayor signing a petition protesting against the price rises.
Yellow Card for Inconsiderate Drivers
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Fethiye Council environmental enforcement officers were handing out parking tickets last week to motorists parked illegally.
They targeted vehicles parked in bus stops, cycleways, pavements and on pedestrian crossings.
But the tickets handed out did not have a penalty fee attached.
Instead, they had a polite notice warning the driver to park more sensibly in future or they would be fined.
Treasure Hunters Caught Red Handed
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If you go down to the woods today you better watch out.
That’s what a local team from the security services did last week.
Whilst on patrol they caught three treasure hunters red handed near the village of Çamlı.
The three were excavating in an area of protected woodland near to ancient graves.
The police arrested the three individuals.
They also recovered a number of hand tools from the site that had been used by the trio.
- Image credit – Fethiye Haber Bulteni
Cannabis Farm Disrupted
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Local police seized over 1,000 cannabis plants growing in a remote woodland near the town of Seydikemer last week.
Each plant had to be pulled up by hand.
The total haul was 50kgs.
An investigation to find the farmer responsible for the illegal crop has been launched.
- Image credit – Fethiye Haber Bulteni
Turkish Money
The British Pound has been one of the worst performing major currency against the US Dollar so far this year.
The British Pound bought 3.83 TL by the close of trading on Friday.
A Turkish Lira was worth 26 pence.
Weather
The weather forecast for the week ahead looks like this. More sun, more summer.
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The post Fethiye Times News Week Ending 13 August 2016 appeared first on Fethiye Times.