Sinkhole numbers rise - 30th April 2021

Enormous sinkholes caused by prolonged dry weather are increasing in number in the agricultural plains of Turkey.

Local farmer Tahsin Gundogdu is concerned about the drought. He thinks that the situation is not being managed properly.

Tahsin Gundogdu: "There have always been sinkholes, but lately, these last 10-15 years, there have been more and more. The cause of this in the Konya plain is the dryness of the soil and the lack of maintenance in the surrounding area."

As the drought continues, water levels in lakes and rivers are falling, which means farmers are having to use underground water sources for their harvests. However, the more water they take from underground, the dryer the ground becomes. As a result, large gaps, called sinkholes, develop deep down under the ground. As the gaps grow bigger the weighty soil above collapses.

The farmers are aware of the problems they are creating by using underground water. However, they are in a difficult position because they can't afford to use water from reservoirs. They are worried their businesses will fail.

Murat Akbulut is director of Konya's chamber of agricultural engineers. He is anxious about how much water supplies from Lake Beysehir have reduced.

Murat Akbulut: "Currently, in our lakes, dams and groundwater, there is a significant drought. When we analyse Beysehir lake in our region which last year provided 450 million tonnes of water reserves for the (Konya) plain, in comparison to this year, the amount of water it can give is around 123 million tonnes."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded by holding a meeting about Turkey's water crisis. He reassured farmers that the government would assist them.

Many farmers and politicians believe that it's not only a change in weather patterns that is creating the water problems. They want action to be taken.