PASOK leader: Gov’t and regions responsible for not using antiflood funding effectively

PASOK-Movement for Change (KINAL) leader Nikos Androulakis paid a visit to animal farmers wiped out by the floods in Platykampos, in Thessaly’s city of Larissa, on Sunday.

Following his tour of flooded villages in Karditsa, many of which were entirely submerged by the overflowing of rivers during the ‘Daniel’ storm, Androulakis said “the economic catastrophe is massive, since this is where the heart of Greece’s production lies.”

He called for immediate use of hotels to house residents who lost homes, especially as a state of emergency has been called in the region, and he also insisted that the farmer insurance organization ELGA come to inspect the losses.

The Pasok-Kinal leader was told by local farmers that the embankment “was full of discarded building material, reeds, and trees”. They added that three years ago, when the storm ‘Ianos’ had hit Greece, “the same thing had happened” with the embankment, along with the lack of any antiflood works.

Androulakis said that he came across producers’ despair with the complete destruction of animal and plant production, and underlined, “The government’s and region’s responsibilities are very high. They did not manage to defend Thessaly from these extreme phenomena. The quality of antiflood works carried out must be inspected. Also, they must account for the works that were not carried out these past few years.”

The party leader also warned of ‘a health disaster’ in the area if ELGA did not soon record the dead animals to be removed. National and European funding must reimburse farmers and breeders for the damage they have sustained, he added.

Asked by a journalist what he thought was at fault for the disastrous repercussions of the storm, Androulakis said that scientists had warned of climate change’s extreme phenomena. “When Ianos has preceded this storm, when 240 million euros have been distributed for water protection projects in Thessaly and we still get these results – no matter how extreme the phenomena – then obviously the government and the region are responsible for antiflooding works that did not happen, as well as for the quality of the ones carried out during the last few years.”