With the total amount of water that has been collected so far this year exceeding 3.3 million cubic meters, the Achnas dam has been a spectacle for the residents of free Famagusta for days. As well as the perfect living habitat of the important fauna that it hosts at its borders. The only dam in the province of Famagusta, of enriching character, completes 32 years of life this year and is a reference point and an important element in the wetlands that our island has to show.
The total capacity of the dam is 6,8 million cubic meters of water. It began to be created in 1986, offering many hundreds of jobs to locals, as well as to Chinese technicians who came to Cyprus to build it through a joint venture between a Chinese and a Cypriot company. In 1988, the then President of the Republic of Cyprus, Spyros Kyprianou, inaugurated the large project, in the context of the larger ambitious project called "Southern Agogos", through which large quantities of water are transported annually for irrigation purposes in Kokkinochoria. (Water transported from the dam of Kourri, in the province of Limassol).
In the waters of the Achna dam, whose northern outskirts are on the side of the occupied Achna, live fish such as cypresses, redfish, cauliflower, sea bass, catfish, crayfish and some other species. 2008 was a milestone year for the Achna Dam and the important wetland that surrounds it, as the area joined the "Nature 2000" program. In recent years, birds such as the pelicaterina and the squid have been found almost permanently among the hundreds of other feathers that live in the wetland.
The Venetian burrows
The dam of Achna, which attracts thousands of locals and foreign visitors every year, was created according to the community leader of Achna, Nikos Vasilas, in the land of the people of Achni. In a location - natural laxia, which greatly facilitated and construction work.
In this area, before the dam, there were many fig trees and snake populations as the soil was characterized by a humidity (before the periods of drought on the island, of course, intensified in recent years). In a part of the lawn of Achna, as well as in the neighboring also lush area of Vrysouthkia, there were burrows from which, according to testimonies of older residents, at least until the 1950s, all year round water gushed forth. Which was channeled through a ditch, (downhill during the local topolalia), in the fields around the area for irrigation purposes. According to tradition, these burrows were dug by the Venetians when they were in Cyprus. Until the 1950s, there is still evidence that in the area of Laxia and Vrysouthkia of Achna, ie in the area where the dam is located today, species such as cotton and sesame were cultivated, which are relatively water-loving.
SERIOUS PROBLEMS PREVENT THE OPERATION OF THE SPACE
According to Nikos Vassilas, the protection of the Achnas dam from the garbage left by visitors and especially the amateur fishermen with the rod, the raids by clever poachers and in general the need for better supervision and protection, are currently the most serious problems. in terms of space operation.
For this purpose, it is a constant request of the community of Achna Forest to the Department of Water and the Government, to be granted the management of the site. Or at least, to support the community financially so that a permanent guard can be placed in the area. Otherwise, he pointed out, the problems that are observed in the area from time to time will not disappear.
It is worth mentioning that in the area of the Achna dam, it is planned to host the facilities of the Kokkinochorion Biological Station in the future, with the Achna Forest community already presenting as a compensatory request, to have the first say in the management of treated irrigation water to be produced.
Source: philenews