The Budapest assembly of approved a decision to spend over one billion forints (EUR 3.3) on purchasing 7,000 LED lights for public lighting. The opposition Jobbik party, however, said that approved amount was one-and-a-half times the market price. Horváth called Budapest Mayor a “coward” for refusing to hear the opinion of locals.

Opposition parties and civil groups have long campaigned against plans to build a mobile flood levee on the Római embankment, which environmentalists say would harm the local ecology.

Erzsébet Gy. Németh of the Democratic Coalition (DK) said supporters of the project “will have to face the consequences if a tragedy occurs”. She cited reports that the company planning the mobile levee had already “failed” in a similar project for a levee at Visegrád, north of Budapest.

Gy. Németh called on Tarlós to renegotiate the tenders. Horváth also called on Tarlós to ensure the full reconstruction and wheelchair accessibility of metro line 3, and to sack transport company chief Kálmán Dabóczi for his “incompetent” introduction of e-tickets.

Socialist representative Sándor Szaniszló noted that Budapest has around 900 burst pipes every year. Around 350km of water pipes need urgent renovation, he said, but the water management company lacked funds due to government cost-cutting, he said.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Koszticsák Szilárd