The people of Uzunkavak, who changed their 80-year-long struggles with a referendum, are counting down the days to join their new district, which is just 4 meters away by bridge.

In the Uzunkavak Neighborhood of Reyhanlı district in Hatay, citizens went to the polls to change their 80-year-old grievances, and they decided to connect their neighborhood to the Kumlu district, which is just 4 meters away via a bridge. The joining of Uzunkavak to the new district was also approved through a vote in the Kumlu Municipal Council.

The residents of Uzunkavak neighborhood, located 30 kilometers away from the district center of Reyhanlı, went to the polls to connect to the Kumlu district, which is 3 kilometers away. In this neighborhood, where most of the residents are earthquake victims, citizens preferred to connect to the Kumlu district due to the 30 kilometers they had to travel for official transactions. After applications made to the Hatay Governorship, a referendum was held in the neighborhood a few months ago. Out of a total of 780 voters in the neighborhood, 510 people went to the polls to cast their votes. As a result of the counting, it was decided that Uzunkavak Neighborhood would be connected to the Kumlu district with 480 “Yes” votes. Following the referendum, a vote was also held in the Kumlu Municipal Council for Uzunkavak’s joining the district, and the request for Uzunkavak to join Kumlu was accepted. The residents of the neighborhood, which is separated from Kumlu district by a 4-meter bridge, are eagerly awaiting to connect to their new district. The joining of Uzunkavak to Kumlu will be finalized with an official decision in the near future.

“We will connect once we get approval from the ministry”
Muhtar Mehmet Albayrak expressed that they will soon connect to Kumlu district, stating, “We have been trying to connect to the Kumlu district, which is right next to us, for many years, and after going through these stages, we will connect. There is a distance of 4 meters and a bridge between us and Kumlu district. For 80 years, Uzunkavak Neighborhood has suffered greatly in many ways. Reyhanlı district is 30 km away from us. Our referendum results showed an approval rate of about 96 percent. Since I became the muhtar, I have received support from the entire village on this issue. After the current decisions, we will connect once we get approval from the ministry and the process continues,” he said.

“Every trip to Reyhanlı costs me 300 TL in fuel”
İbrahim Karlı, a resident of Uzunkavak Neighborhood, pointed out that the trips to Reyhanlı district center are expensive, stating, “We have been connected to Reyhanlı district since 1945. There is a distance of 4 meters between us and Kumlu district. We held a large referendum to join Kumlu district. We successfully completed the referendum. We want to connect to Kumlu as soon as possible from the authorities. Every time I go to Reyhanlı municipality, I come back saying the system is down for 3 days. I don’t have a car, but I borrow from friends and family. Every trip costs me 300 TL in fuel, but if we were in Kumlu district, I could solve my issues over the phone.”