The sight that scared the farmers in Eskişehir! It had happened twice more.

An abyss with a depth of about 20 meters and a diameter of 5 meters formed in the agricultural land located in the Çifteler district of Eskişehir. Erkan Ceylan, a field owner living in the rural Sadıroğlu neighborhood connected to the district, noticed that a sinkhole had formed in his sunflower field. After informing the authorities, an investigation was initiated regarding the incident.

"THIS IS THE FIRST SINKHOLE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD"

Ceylan noticed that a part of the field was missing when he came to his 23-decare field to collect drip irrigation equipment. When he entered the field and saw the sinkhole, Ceylan got scared and said, "We informed the officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Officials from the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) came. It's also the time for sunflower harvest. If we hadn't noticed, it could have even swallowed the combine harvester. This is the first sinkhole that has formed in our neighborhood. After harvesting the surrounding area, we plan to fill this sinkhole with soil."

"GROUNDWATER SHOULD NOT BE USED RECKLESSLY"

Ender Muhammed Gümüş, the Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, who conducted an examination in the field, reported that this is the third sinkhole known in Eskişehir.

Gümüş explained that farmers plant crops that require a lot of irrigation every year and stated the following:

"Our Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, İbrahim Yumaklı, made a statement regarding planned production support. From now on, we will control the planting of our water-intensive crops. The support we provide to prevent our farmers' income from decreasing has been increased. There are 51 districts in 11 provinces nationwide that have water restrictions. 6 districts in Eskişehir are also included in these. Water restrictions and planned production support will be provided in these districts where problems will arise if groundwater is used recklessly. With planned production, our farmers will earn more. We will also use our water efficiently. This way, we will not see sinkholes as often."