Greens to protest development near waterfall

The Green Party said on Friday it was organising a protest on Saturday against a private project on a riverbed that is said to have appropriated a natural waterfall as part of the construction.

Environmentalists say the damage has already been done to the waterfall on Kryos Potamos, the Troodos river that has gifted Cyprus with Caledonian and Millomeri falls.

Cyprus Mail sources said the building belongs to “a very well-known Greek Cypriot architect in Limassol who is very well connected”.

“We are following with great concern the developments and the environmental impact caused by the construction of a house on the Kryos riverbed in Platres, which is causing serious environmental degradation,” the Green Party said on a statement.

“The issuance of a planning permit was done by bypassing the competent authorities, according to our information, and this fact intensifies our indignation,” it added.

The party said it would be protesting the development on Saturday at 5pm at the specific spot.

The demonstration will be attended by Green Party leader Giorgos Perdikis.  The party called for as many people as possible to attend.

“Protecting the environment is everyone’s business,” the statement said.

According to information obtained by the Cyprus Mail, there are no signs at the building site with information about the developer, engineer and architect, which is illegal, the sources said, adding that it was evident that the person building the house knew it was illegal.

The Cyprus Mail furthermore learnt that the building is larger than the one in the blueprints.

The sources pointed out that a complaint has already been filed with the Environment Commissioner’s office.