Palm trees planted by 'trustee' mayor in Diyarbakır dry up due to unsuitable climate

Photos: MA

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The palm trees planted by the trustee administration of the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality (DBB) in the city's green areas and streets have dried up.

The tropical trees dried up because the city's arid climate is not suitable for them.

The municipality planted the trees last year by removing other trees from streets and parks.

NOTE: Dr. Selçuk Mızraklı of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) won the 2019 local election in Diyarbakır by getting 62.93 percent of the votes. The Ministry of Interior replaced him with a mayor on August 19, 2019, citing a "terrorism" investigation against him. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison for "being a member of an illegal organization" in March 2020. Most of the HDP mayors in Kurdish cities have been replaced with trustees.

"They spent 150 million lira"

Speaking to the Mezopotamya Agency (MA) about the trees, Samet Ucaman, the head of the Diyarbakır Chamber of Agricultural Engineers, said the green areas in the city have been damaged for three years.

"In the last three years, the places of the trees were changed three times. On the one hand, there is the purchase of trees, and on the other, there is the removal of trees. The removed trees disappeared," he said, adding that at least 150 million lira has been spent in six years for landscape design.

Nearly 200 palms had been planted and about 99 percent of them are now dried up, said the engineer.

"We previously stated that palms are plants belonging to the tropical and aquatic tropical belts and they grow in high-humidity areas. We couldn't convince them that Diyarbakır has a continental climate and the palms would dry up," he said. (TY/VK)