Due to the Mevlit Kandili holiday, many people trying to cross into South Cyprus created long queues at the Metehan Land Crossing. Citizens waiting in the heat reported that the waiting times ranged from 20 minutes to an hour. In order to find a permanent solution to the congestion, demands were made to increase existing capacities and open new border crossings.
Citizens’ Requests
Salih Kocadal stated that he has been waiting in line for about an hour to cross south and emphasized that the current system is problematic. He mentioned that he wants to cross into South Cyprus to do some shopping and believes that opening new border crossings would serve as a solution. He also added that he hopes for the complete removal of borders.
Another citizen, Salih Bolu, mentioned that he is waiting to take advantage of the holiday to shop. He pointed out the congestion at Metehan and specifically requested the opening of the Haspolat Border Crossing. He reiterated that opening new crossings would solve the issue.
Waiting Times and Proposed Solutions
Çiğdem Özdemir shared that she experienced another long waiting time trying to cross south and suggested various proposals to resolve the existing congestion. She expressed that the congestion is continually ongoing and argued for the opening of a new crossing point towards Demirhan. She noted that despite road renovations, such issues have persisted.
Hasan Değirmencioğlu remarked that crossings have become difficult and stated that both entering and exiting have been problematic. He expressed concern that the situation might worsen in the coming days and called on authorities to open more crossings.
Lastly, Şahap Tokatlı shared that they are crossing to obtain necessities unavailable in the south, stating that the current congestion could only be resolved by opening lanes from the south as well as the north. He highlighted that the refusal of the Greek side to open a gate at Haspolat negatively impacted their situation.
Source: www.diyaloggazetesi.com
