AN ESTIMATED 373,000 people will be living in Didim within the next decade, council officials have said.

At a seminar at Didim Chamber of Commerce,  attendees, including Didim Mayor Deniz Atabay and Governor Iskender Yonden, were told that Didim needed to adopt a broad plan to cope with the influx of people to the resort over the next decade.

Didim Town Council’s Osman Ayyildiz was the lead speaker in which he shared a broad vision and key issues that will need to be tackled from drug addiction among young people to the better promotion of the resort’s burgeoning olive oil industry and

Other issues included the control of settlements and building work to help improve the town’s ‘urban fabric’.

He highlighted concerns about the potential for drug addiction among the young – “Substance abuse is a crime – and the need to keep tackling it and educating young people of its dangers.

He drew attention to a number of ‘highs’ for the town in the last 12 months, including celebrating Migrants Day with members of Help in Hands.

Govenor Mr Yonden said that ongoing efforts with the police and Gendarme had helped to reduce theft and burglaries by 30 per cent compared to the previous year.

He also highlighted the fact that 98 people had been identified and reported to the public prosecutor for using Treasury land for building works and “without necessary permissions”.

He said: “For those who have raped the land of the Treasury, we will not tolerate this and they will face action.”