In a meeting held at Abiot Irmija school hall on Friday, residents of Kirkos Sub City, former Woreda 18 Kebele 27, renamed as Woreda 1, were told that the entire area will be demolished in two to three months, according to Capital news report.

The school hall was full to capacity. Residents of the Woreda 1 who live in their private houses, Kebele and Rental Houses expressed great disappointment and discontent against the demolition project scheduled to start in such a short time. Jemal Salah, the General Manager of the Kirkos Sub City told residents that there is no need to panic with this announcement.

“The city has undertaken a thorough study of the implementation of the project. Private house owners are given three options. People who have the capacity to build up to four stories are allowed to do so in their respective areas. Others can be given compensation along with land in other areas. People with low income are eligible for condominiums constructed by the city government,” he explained. He further said that all this will be done in consultation with the residents.

One resident complained that the compensation that was given in other areas was not enough to construct even a small house. “This is no exception. You said we are allowed to build in our Kebeles if we have the capacity, but in practice this has never been the case,” he said challenging the idea forwarded by the General Manager. In total, 12 hectares of land will be cleared for the development project, involving moving 257 families before August 2011.