The Larnaca District Self-Government Organization (EOAL) is entering the deep end, which in the next period will send warnings to the owners of another 30 dangerous residential buildings, 27 of which are apartment buildings. It has already started on Friday to implement a specific plan, starting with the most difficult and problematic case.
This is the Filanta apartment building, located near the port, in which on May 27 a foreigner lost his life and two others were injured when they jumped from balconies to avoid being arrested, during a YAM operation. EOAL gave an ultimatum of a few days to the owners, to launch the procedures to remove the danger of the apartment building.
Filanta is the largest dangerous residential building on the long list of the EOAL, since it has five blocks with 79 apartments and ten shops, the owners of which exceed 90. It is estimated that hundreds of people live in it, most of them foreigners, while there are apartments that have been illegally occupied. "We gave them three working days to proceed with measures to remove the danger, otherwise we will ask them to evacuate the buildings. The three days pass today (yesterday), however, we will still give some leeway, because efforts are being made by some owners. If they appoint an engineer and proceed with a plan to fix the problem, then they will be given the leeway. Otherwise we will proceed with an evacuation and if there is no compliance we will proceed with a court order", said the president of EOAL, Angelos Hatzicharalambous.
In addition to the danger of the building, there are also very serious issues of hygiene and illegalities in Filanta, for which Mr. Hadjicharalambous sounded the alarm. "The EOAL officials knocked on the doors and made a performance and we saw a lot. Mostly foreign nationals reside and there are many families. There are apartments where too many people live, in some there may be 10 people. The hygienic conditions are also miserable," Mr. Hadjicharalambous pointed out, noting that many services must be involved. "We found several tenants who get electricity from each other illegally. There are too many problems, it is not just a matter of removing the danger. There are issues of the Police about who lives, the Municipality of Larnaca about the nuisance and hygiene issues, the Electromechanical Service and the EAC must be included for the issues of electricity, but also the Fire Service, because they have closed exits. There are illegalities and illegalities in this building."
In the coming days, EOAL will proceed with similar actions in other residential apartment buildings in Larnaca that have been deemed dangerous. Information from "F" states that this includes a second large apartment building, which has 64 apartments and 12 shops.
