Labourers are revolting in Ankara because of the drought in the capital for 2 weeks which is a result of the cancellation of the drinking water project by Ankara Council in 2005. While it was said that the water cut imposed on August 1 could last for 5 more months, more and more actions happen in Ankara's labourer quarters. The labourers call on Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek to resign.
The council has started to distribute water by tanks in the labourer quarters to prevent more actions, but while they prefer those quarters that had voted for the AKP in the elections, other quarters were not supplied and the labourers started to seize the water tanks.
Following the decision of the labourers of the quarter Battalgazi of Ankara district Altindag on the evening of August 8, a group of them seized a water tank that the Council had sold to a private company and drove the tank to the labourers` quarter. When the tank entered the quarter, a police unit of the council cut its way, but the labourers answered the clash with stones and bricks. After the police left, the people shared the water according to their needs.
On August 10, the labourer youth of Sirintepe organized a similar action.
In the quarter Mamak, 3,000 labourers occupied the street Natoyolu with the slogans "Gokcek resign, water supply is a right and cannot be sold" on August 12. The labourers marched towards the police that surrounded the protesters. When the police had to leave the quarter, the occupation of the street took nearly 2 hours. The labourers also seized a tank of Mamak Council that was passing by. While the labourers said that their actions will continue until water supply is guaranteed again, a similar action was organised on the evening of August 13. The street Natoyolu was closed to traffic for 2 hours. The Socialist Platform of the Oppressed, HOC , Halkevleri and Kizilbayrak joined the action, too.