In Kastamonu, where village fires occur frequently, the electricity of unused houses will be cut off

In Kastamonu, where village fires are very common, the aim is to reduce house fires by cutting off the electricity of houses that are used as summer homes or are empty.

The second meeting of the Provincial Coordination Council (İKK) for 2024 was held under the chairmanship of Governor Meftun Dallı at the Northern Anatolia Development Agency (KUZKA) Meeting Hall. In his opening speech at the meeting, Governor Dallı stated, “There are a lot of fires in Kastamonu. Unfortunately, the houses in our villages are mostly wooden, and this is why we have many fires. We are all extremely troubled by this issue. A significant portion of these fires originates from electrical installations. We know this as well. Therefore, if the electricity of empty houses in the villages is cut off by turning off the circuit breakers, removing the fuses, or finding another formula, when the house is not in use and the electricity is connected to the house, what would happen? We do not think there will be a legal problem. Let the subscriptions of the houses continue; we are not saying anything about this. When they come to their houses, they can turn on their fuses or raise the circuit breakers and continue to use their electricity, but when the house is empty, the electricity is still connected, and there is nobody. Perhaps the cable is being chewed by a rat or there is a similar issue, which can cause a fire. Cutting off the electricity would not harm. I believe there will not be any legal issues regarding this matter. I hope that our district governors, mayors, relevant department heads, and village heads will work together to cut off the electricity of unused houses in our districts and villages. Some citizens do not come to their homes at all throughout the year, but the electricity remains connected. Those who will come to their houses can turn on their electricity when they arrive. If they also turn off the electricity when they leave, we believe it will help reduce these fires to some extent. This is a precaution, and we want to take this precaution as well,” he said.

Thanking the institutions fighting fires, Governor Dallı stated, “All our relevant institutions put in great efforts during the fires, both in forest fires and village fires. We thank our municipalities for this, but we also thank the Kastamonu Forest Regional Directorate as much as our municipalities. They rush to wherever there is a fire with all their tankers and vehicles. They provide very serious contributions to extinguishing these fires. We thank all our relevant institutions,” he said.

Governor Dallı also requested the completion of materials used for fire fighting in villages, stating, “There are many requests from the villages we visit as the Special Provincial Administration regarding water tanks, hydrants, hoses, and other fire extinguishing materials. Let these not fall off our agenda. Let us continue to do whatever we can in the same way.”

305 projects with a total project amount of 121 billion lira

Providing information about project amounts, Deputy Governor Hakan Kubalı said, “According to the information received from the institutions, in 305 projects, 7 are at the tender stage, 176 are ongoing, 40 are completed, 79 have not started, 3 are recommended, and the total project amounts of these projects is 121 billion 424 million 508 thousand TL. The total budget for 2024 is 6 billion 463 million 429 thousand TL. The expenditure of the annual budget is 3 billion 213 million 116 thousand TL, and the annual expenditure rate is 50%. The budget for 22 projects in the education sector is 435 million 893 thousand TL. The budget for 38 projects in the transportation and communication sector is 2 billion 88 million 867 thousand TL. The budget for 162 projects in the agriculture sector is 2 billion 38 million 416 thousand TL. The budget for 3 projects in the mining sector is 42 million 830 thousand TL. The budget for 1 project in the manufacturing sector is 2 million 476 thousand TL. The budget for 8 projects in the tourism sector is 11 million 289 thousand TL. The budget for 15 projects in the health sector is 985 million 397 thousand TL. The total budget for projects in the energy sector is 646 million 299 thousand TL, and the budget for 47 other public service projects is 211 million 958 thousand TL. The distribution of projects by districts is as follows: 100 projects in the center, 7 projects in Abana, 2 projects in Ağlı, 13 projects in Araç, 6 projects in Azdavay, 13 projects in Bozkurt, 8 projects in Cide, 7 projects in Çatalzeytin, 8 projects in Daday, 10 projects in Devrekani, 3 projects in Doğanyurt, 7 projects in Hanönü, 2 projects in İhsangazi, 20 projects in İnebolu, 7 projects in Küre, 10 projects in Pınarbaşı, 2 projects in Şenpazar, 18 projects in Taşköprü, 20 projects in Tosya, and 42 projects in various other districts, totaling 305 projects. There are also 17 projects belonging to the Provincial and District Municipalities, with project amounts totaling 130 million 359 thousand TL. The total budget for 2024 is 110 million 655 thousand TL. The annual expenditure of these budgets is 76 million 88 thousand TL, with an expenditure rate of 69%.” After the speeches, institutions provided information to the coordination council regarding their investments.