The measure will last 30 more days. The Executive argues that exceptional measures are still required to remedy the situation resulting from illegal mining.
President William Lasso extended for 30 days Exception status decreed in December in the town of Zaruma (El Oro), seriously affected by a landslide as a result of sinkholes caused by the illegal mineryreported this February 15, 2022 official sources.
Last December 17, the ruler had declared, for 60 daysthe Exception status by public calamity, based “on the collapses that occurred in that canton, which affect the rights of the inhabitants and the heritage of the city due to the activity illegal mining«.
In the renewal decree, it specifies that the Exception status It will be extended for a period of 30 days, counted from this February 14. The document indicates among the reasons for the measure that 25% of the city does not have permanent electricity and that 195 people are still affected by the collapse that occurred on the night of December 15, 2021. There are also 157 homes in risk, according to the latest report from the National Risk and Emergency Management Service.
“The goal of Exception status is to attend to the event and to the affected inhabitants, as well as to prevent similar situations in the future”, indicates a statement from the Presidency sent to the press this Tuesday.
The resistance put up by groups linked to illegal mining is also argued, as they do not allow the remediation tasks to be carried out “even going so far as to detonate explosives aimed at preventing the personnel from carrying out their work.”
On January 20, the Government reported that it allocated the first funds, of 2.7 million dollars, for the rehabilitation work in Zaruma.
The President specified then that, through the Ministry of Finance, “the first installment of the necessary funds for the rehabilitation of the sinkhole» formed in an area of Zaruma.
The works are intended to rebuild the damage caused by the collapse, which sank several buildings and left some 300 people on the street.
lasso He pointed out, then, that throughout the year there will be additional phases to develop that will entail new disbursements and that these will be made according to the progress of the work and the corresponding budget allocation. (EFE-DLH)
