'Kızderbent is ours, we don't want a quarry'

A banner hung on the Kızderbent association's office reads, "End the slaughter of nature." 

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The State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) 1st Regional Directorate is planning to open a quarry and a concrete plan Kızderbent neighborhood in Kocaeli's Karamürsel district for supplying material for the construction of two dams in the Altınova district of the Yalova province.

Concerned that the project will pollute the drinking water in the vicinity of the village, the locals oppose the construction. They have also launched a Twitter account named "Kızderbent Koruma" (Kızderbent Protection) to make their voices heard.

As the Environmental Impact Assessment process regarding the project has started, we have spoken with the Kızderbent Solidarity and Development Association Chair Enver Demirsoysal about the situation in the village.

"We are against the quarry, not the dam"

The DSİ held a meeting at Kızderbent to inform the people, Demirsoysal said.

"At the meeting, they said, 'We want to open two dams, and a quarry in Kızderbent.' And we said we didn't want a quarry, we were against the quarry but we were not against building a dam. There is a quarry 8 to 10 km from Kızderbent. The DSİ already has a quarry there. While the Osmangazi Bridge was being built, stones were taken from that quarry and used. We expressed these to them.

"We launched a petition and then conveyed it to the Subgovernoship through our mukhtar [village head]. And then we brought a hydrogeologist here and got him to do an investigation in this area. We had an examination done about the [project's] damage and effects on the environment. Then we sent the expert opinion to the Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization with a petition."

"Agriculture and animal husbandry will end"

On the damage that would be caused by a quarry, Demirsoysal said, "Agriculture and animal husbandry are done in Kızderbent. Karamürsel's largest agricultural areas are in Kızderbent. If a quarry is built here, agriculture and animal husbandry will end. There is a stream in the place where the quarry will be built, the animals of the village are fed in that stream. They will also pollute this water. With that water, vineyards and orchards are irrigated, which will no longer be possible.

The area where the quarry will be built

"There is a state-sponsored sheep and cattle breeding farm within one kilometer of the quarry site. How will the animals stay there if there are explosions for the quarry? There are settlements nearby 1 to 1.5 kilometers. How can people stay there? There will be landslides with explosions, it will come towards the village. What will we do then?"

" The place the quarry will be built is like heaven"

"The DSİ built a pond in Kızderbent in 2006. They said, 'Do agriculture. We have brought water to you. Do irrigation, advance in agriculture.'

"In 2016, all of our lands were declared 'hamlets.' They said, 'We support animal husbandry, no one can do anything to your land.'

"And now, in 2020, they come and say, 'We will build a quarry. We have inherited these places from our ancestors. We have used it. But there will be nothing left for those who will come after us.

"Right now, we are doing our best to prevent this project from being implemented. Kızderbent is ours. It is a natural, unspoiled place. We don't want it to decay. The place the quarry will be built is like heaven."

MP: There are already two quarries

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Kocaeli MP Tahsin Tarhan visited Kızderbent on August 13.

"The distance between the planned quarry site and the neighborhood is only 800 meters. The quarry, which will operate on approximately 50 hectares of land for four years and is expected to process 600,000 tons of stone, will adversely affect the habitation and agriculture in the area because of dust, air and noise pollution," he had said.

"While there are two quarries currently in operation in the relevant area, it is not possible to understand the desire to establish a new facility in the middle of agricultural lands and residential areas," the MP had added.

The Kızderbent association has also launched a petition on change.org. (SO/VK)