Farmers of the Xyliatos area, Nicosia district, sent out a distress call on Tuesday warning that their crops were dying, calling on authorities to make arrangements so that water from a nearby artificial lake can be used for irrigation.

The matter of potentially making use of the water in Memi Lake was discussed in parliament, with MPs urging the government to quickly come up with answers amid the persisting drought.

Also located in the area is the Xyliatos water dam, but here again there are problems with making the water available for irrigation.

MPs heard about the state of the local water grid, installed in the 1980s and using old asbestos piping. The pipes often crack open and water spills out.

Disy MP Savia Orfanidou said they recommend making use of Memi Lake with some technical modifications.

But the answers they got from the agriculture ministry were “unsatisfactory”, she said. “It seems it will take a long time for them to even know the cost of such a process.”

Nor were ministry officials able to quote a tentative timetable for such an endeavour.

According to Orfanidou, they also learned that a borehole near the local dam cannot be used due to technical reasons.

The lawmakers said they demand that the government act immediately to help the nearby villages.

“At long last, let us give tangible support, especially in these difficult times for the countryside and the farmers.”

Chiming in, Akel’s Christos Christofides noted that “we are already at the end of March, but farmers of a whole region – Kato Moni, Ayia Marina Xyliatou as well as other communities – have no water.”

Trees and orchards planted decades ago are at risk, and the situation is “tragic”, he added.

“The loss [leakage] of water must be restricted via an investment by the government, and priorities must be set. It cannot be that farmers have no water for irrigation, with so many tonnes of water ending up at the local slaughterhouse.”

The parliamentarian took a swipe at the government, saying that claims to the effect that the water situation is being handled come across as a bad joke.

For his part, the community leader of Xyliatos demanded solutions “here and now” – otherwise residents would take to the streets to protest.

“We have no other option…unfortunately they [the government] are unresponsive,” said Kyriacos Fivou. “We proposed solutions, we gave them proposals, but no response.”

The community leader claimed that farmers would run out of water within days.

“There are plantations which, when you look at them, you feel sorry for them. Fruit is drying up and falling off the trees. Not even the trees will survive.”

The Memi Mine Lake is located just outside the residential area of Xyliatos village. The mine operated in the community from 1954 to 1971 and then again between 1987 and 1990, used to extract copper and iron.

A large crater has been created which is filled with rainwater, forming a lake.