The province of Hakkari has a population of 80 thousand. Most of the city’s residents are still using coal for heating. Air pollution in the city, caused by poor quality coal, threatens public health. Although natural gas has been provided to the city for about two years, most of the city’s residents cannot use it. Coal is also not easily affordable for the city’s poor residents.

While the annual cost of natural gas does not exceed 10 thousand TL, coal and firewood cost between 50 thousand and 100 thousand TL. High costs for heating have a negative effect on the city where poverty and unemployment remain high.

NATURAL GAS IS NOT DISTRIBUTED TO WHOLE CITY

Hakkari is reported to be one of the most polluted cities in the country. The main reason is the use of poor quality coal.

Most of the city’s residents have been waiting for natural gas for two years. Currently, only a small part of the city centre receives natural gas. The residents believe that it is due to a deliberate policy of the AKP-MHP government that they cannot use natural gas in their houses. The people of the city say that since pro-government companies sell coal, infrastructure work to supply natural gas is not improved. According to the residents, the ruling AKP subjects them to polluted air for the sake of more profits for its cronies.

'WE CAN'T BREATHE'

Hüseyin Demir, a native of Hakkari, said that they have been waiting to use natural gas in their house for two years even though their neighbourhood is a 10-minute walk away from the city centre: “Dirty air covers the whole city in winter. It becomes impossible to go out during winter months. We cannot breathe because of the polluted air. In particular, old people and children are seriously affected by the polluted air.”

“We have been offered no solution so far. While natural gas pipelines have reached the western cities of Turkey via Hakkari and surrounding cities for nearly 50 years, it is a deliberate policy of the government to deprive Hakkari and other Kurdish cities of it. They are forcing people to use poor quality coal,” he added.

'WE ARE LOSING BOTH OUR MONEY AND OUR HEALTH’

Demir said that some people make profits from the use of poor quality coal: “They have prevented the delivery of natural gas to the city for years in order to maintain their profitable business. It has been two years since natural gas was supplied to the city, but they are preventing it from being provided throughout the city. Natural gas is both cheap and healthy. We are losing both our money and our health because of coal.”