Keçiören Municipality established a commemorative forest in the Yükseltepe District of the district in memory of the citizens who lost their lives in the Kahramanmaraş earthquake. In this context, the saplings were brought together with the soil with the 'February 6, 2023 Earthquake Martyrs Memorial Forest Sapling Planting Ceremony' held with the participation of schools in Keçiören.
Keçiören Mayor Turgut Altınok, AK Party Ankara Deputy Arife Polatdüz, AK Party Keçiören District President Zafer Çoktan, representatives of political parties and non-governmental organizations attended the sapling planting ceremony.
In his speech at the ceremony, President Altınok said, “We came together at our tree planting ceremony in memory of our earthquake martyrs. We have experienced the catastrophe of centuries. Nearly 50 thousand of our citizens received their mercy. May their place be heaven. I wish our injured a speedy recovery and well-being. Turkey's heart was burned, and it still does. We felt the pain deeply in our hearts. We will keep the memory of our lost souls alive in this forest.” said.
EXAMPLE SOLIDARITY
Touching on the solidarity shown by the Turkish nation with the earthquake, Altınok said, “May Allah be pleased with the Necip Turkish nation. Especially from our young people. We created 10 aid collection centers. We also saw that our young volunteers are working here. Our university students, high school students and non-student youth voluntarily struggled to heal these wounds, and they continue to do so. In our centers, our youth and staff have classified the aid. We have sent our support to all our earthquake zones as much as we can. Our teams continue to work there. On the one hand, we have earthquake survivor brothers who came here. They are the host beyond the guest. We are in a time when brotherhood, humanity began. May God be pleased with everyone who opened their hearts, hearts and homes. he said.
“OUR PRESIDENT KNOWS THE JOB”
Stating that he wholeheartedly believes that earthquake zones will be rebuilt in accordance with the spirit of cities under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Altınok said:
“Mr. President knows the job. Currently, there are no destroyed buildings in TOKİ residences in the earthquake zone. First, public buildings were destroyed in earthquakes. But now, thankfully, no public buildings, especially newly constructed buildings, were destroyed in the earthquake of the century. Our Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change knows the job, our TOKİ President knows the job. New buildings will be built, cities will be built better. But we will not be able to bring back our departed brothers. We will keep their memory alive in this memory forest. We say 'there is a destiny above destiny'. When the time comes, it is not postponed for a second, and not withdrawn for a second. However, we will take our precautions. The action is appreciated by us, by Allah."
“WE WILL RE-SEND OUR PLANS AND SEE THE RESULT”
Reminding that the urban transformation plan prepared by Keçiören Municipality was blocked by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Altınok said, “As soon as we took office in Keçiören, we made urban planning for 80 percent of our city within a year. In one piece, we have made the largest urban transformation planning in Turkey in square meters. But the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality vetoed it. We passed this because we had a majority in the ABB assembly. Then he said he will sue it and stopped it. Mayors plan the city's future, not its present. We also said that when our urban planning was canceled with an annulment lawsuit. Kocaeli earthquake took place and the building inspection institution came into existence. There are lessons to be learned from them. 95 percent of the buildings destroyed in the Kahramanmaraş earthquake were built before the earthquake regulations. This is the official figure announced by our Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. Maybe more of our citizens would have lost their lives if the building inspection system had not been introduced after the Kocaeli earthquake. I appeal to the Chamber of City Planners, the Chamber of Architects and the judiciary! Our state of the Republic of Turkey and our Constitution have guaranteed the safety of life and property of everyone. This is a constitutional duty. As a public institution, we made plans in this direction and they were cancelled. Hopefully, we will re-send these plans and we will see the result.” used his statements.