Bakery opens in Hasakah amid demands for more work hours

Hasakah – North-Press Agency

Last Friday, Markada town, 100 km north of Hasakah, witnessed the opening of a bakery to cover the region's need for bread, amid demands to increase the shares of flour to increase work hours and cover the needs of the area.

Maher al-Khdeir, the co-chair of Markada's town council, said that the opening was scheduled for last year, but it was postponed due to the Turkish attacks on the area and  occupation of the Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad areas, and that hundreds of thousands of displaced people headed to Hasakah which in turn increased the difficulty in securing bread.

Although people of the town and its villages made bread with a brick–oven or a saj (a rounded metal oven that produces thin bread) , they suffered from a severe lack of bread  because there is no bakery to cover their needs.

Olwan al-Rashed, a resident in Markada's countryside, said that the bakery will secure a great amount of bread. However, it only works a few hours a day, and does not cover the actual needs of the town and its villages.

"The bakery has been opened in the last two days with a capacity for nine tons of flour, but we are provided with four tons a day," said Basel Degman, operations manager at the bakery.

He clarified that the town has several villages, and this amount is not enough to cover the actual need, demanding more flour.

The opening of the bakery in Markada was financed by the Autonomous Administration’s Economic Department in Hasakah.

Al-Khdeir said that with four tons of flour, the bakery was set to work, clarifying that there will be a rise in the flour quantity within the next few days.