Malagasy authorities have destroyed 137 houses and expect to knock down more ahead of next month’s Indian Ocean Games, an official said on Tuesday.
The structures were built illegally on land set aside for the August 9 to 19 competition, said Elyse Razafimahefa, a senior official in the capital, Antananarivo’s, city council.
”We have had to demolish 137 houses in Ampefiloha [a city district] because they were in front of the Olympic swimming pool,” he told Reuters in an interview. ”These people have built houses on land where they did not have any permission.”
Residents said the flattened homes were owned by poor families and were cheaply constructed, mostly from wood. More demolitions were expected in the coming days, Razafimahefa said.
”They are part of the project to make Antananarivo more attractive for the Indian Ocean games.”
Competitors from Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Comoros, Mayotte and Reunion will compete in events on the enormous island, including athletics, boxing, cycling, martial arts and swimming. — Reuters