Marble quarry won’t be opened in Eskişehir thanks to people’s struggle

* Photos: ESCEVDER

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The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the Rey Mining Industry and Trade Inc. for a marble quarry to be opened in the Camiliyayla Neighborhood in Eskişehir province has not been approved.

The Eskişehir Environmental Environmental Protection and Development Association (ESCEVDER), the Odunpazarı City Council and the Bozüyük Friends' Association attended the meeting held on April 2 to inform the public about the EIA process. The non-governmental organizations submitted the signatures of the locals against the marble quarry.

In the face of the locals' struggle, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization has announced that it has terminated the project's EIA process.

'We expect the same decision in Muratdere'

In a statement released by the ESCEVDER about the issue, the public has been reminded that there are efforts to open a mine in Muratdere as well: "We expect the same decision in Muratdere Neighborhood."

The association has declared that it "will determinedly keep on working to ensure that forestlands are not destroyed, water is not wasted, air is not polluted and environment turns into a livable wonder of nature."

What did the project foresee?

The 99.84-hectare land where the Rey Mining Industry and Trade Inc. was planning to extract marble was entirely a forestland. The pit which was expected to provide 13,500 tons of marble per month would cause a waste six times the amount of marble to be extracted. The amount of water to be consumed in the quarry was also expected to be 1,850 tons per month. (TP/SD)