Local erects tombstone to protest removal of pavement stones in front of his shop in Turkey’s north

ZONGULDAK

A local who was angered by the removal of pavement stones in front of his shop has erected a tombstone to protest the municipality in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The municipality did not repave the stones it removed on July 19 to fix a burst water pipe on Fevzipaşa Street, in front of 38-year-old Korhan Kayhan’s shop.

To protest the municipality, Kayhan fenced the construction area with pavement stones left by municipality workers and erected a tombstone, on which an Islamic prayer (al-fatehah) is written for the deceased based on Islamic practice.

He said he wanted to react to the municipality in a “clever manner.”

“Following the pipework, they [the municipality workers] did not repave the stones over the area. So, I fenced the construction area and buried their [the municipality’s] services in a ‘grave,’” he said.

He also stated some customers who were entering his shop were surprised by the tombstone.

“My aim was to react to the municipality in a clever way. We have been waiting for them to repave the street for three days, but they have not been successful in replacing these two stones,” he added.