'Turkey's Maldives' turn into muddied waters after widely protested state construction

Duvar English

Often called "Turkey's Maldives" for their turquoise blue waters and white sand, Lake Salda has become murky after construction started in April for a widely-protested "People's Garden" around the body of water, Anka News Agency reported.  

Construction at the site started under COVID-19 restrictions nationwide in April while legal appeals to the construction remained incomplete, as the People's Garden was scheduled to open on June 5 World Environment Day.

However, the opening was postponed on the grounds of ongoing landscaping work, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Burdur deputy Mehmet Göker said. 

Lake Salda should be appreciated from afar as the closed basin can easily result in pollution from human activity, Göker said, adding that the government has a bad environmental track record.

"Everybody knows about the natural beauties we've lost as a result of the government's practices. They have bad examples in their name and a bad track record," Göker noted. 

The current construction project is a second design that emerged as a result of the opposition's strong protest against an even more invasive one, Göker added. 

The deputy said that the opposition would continue to guard the project to ensure the projects weren't designed to create unearned profit for contractors, a common motivation behind Ankara's extravagant construction tenders.

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