Government: It is gearing up for the speedy restoration of the damages after the fire in Attica

“Gazi” is determined to press the government for the immediate possible restoration of the disasters left in its wake by the great one fire that hit her Northeast Attica.

As the prime minister pointed out yesterday Kyriakos Mitsotakis from the Penteli during the meeting with “blue” mayors, both the management of forests and the clearing of plots, as well as anti-flood and anti-corrosion projects in the area, are at stake.

In particular, state aid measures for those affected by the August 11 fires and a 10-point plan for the following day were presented. In any case, the government has put forward the reforestation and restoration projects to run very quickly, in order to have the smallest possible problem with the rains of the coming autumn, but also to have a more complete planning.

In fact, if one takes into account that the Thessaloniki International Exhibition is approaching, it is next for the leaders of the government camp to present an image with as little damage as possible and without active “fronts” of anger and indignation from a portion of the world.

It is recalled that at the same time that the meeting was taking place outside the old town hall of Penteli, northern Athens officials and members of the Socialist Labor Party had gathered and were holding a protest rally shouting slogans against the government.

Mitsotakis from Penteli: We can help our fellow citizens who were affected by the fire very quickly

As the Prime Minister pointed out yesterday Tuesday from Penteli:

“The Greek State now has at its disposal a state aid framework which is tested and which our demand is to run very quickly. I think we can do it because we have handled other cases of natural disasters with multiple beneficiaries.”

The prime minister, among other things, referred to the issues of restoration, covering the damages concerning the properties of the affected citizens, and said that every property that is lost is a tragedy for the owner. He pointed out that the state has the possibility, through the framework launched by the government, “to very quickly help our fellow citizens who saw their properties destroyed to get back on their feet, whether we are talking about residences, or we are talking about businesses” .

He added that this program is a proven program, “which in the numbers we have to manage can and should run very quickly.”

The prime minister referred to the effects of the fires and said that the government is preparing a plan for anti-flood shielding, while he once again thanked everyone who was in the field, the state officials, the Local Government officials, and the volunteers.

He also underlined that almost 4,000 fires were dealt with this year, and many of them were in Attica.

“This was, unfortunately, the only fire that escaped, despite the fact that in this fire the correct approach was adopted, as it was proven in many other fires, the doctrine of the very quick first attack,” said the prime minister.

Mr. Mitsotakis also said that at the end of the fire prevention period, there will be an overall report in the Parliament on what went well and what did not, while he praised the role of technology in dealing with fires.

“Technology has helped us a lot. There is no longer any correlation in terms of the speed at which we are seeing fires compared to what happened in the past. And that, yes, requires a combination of drones, cameras, but we’re already building a technological infrastructure that allows us to be able to locate fires very quickly and naturally adopt the first-strike doctrine in a much more aggressive way than we have. does” said Mr. Mitsotakis and added that important steps have been taken in the matters of coordination between the Ministry, the Fire Department, the Municipalities, the Region, and the Forestry Departments.

“These things didn’t happen in the past. I think some of you are older than me, you have managed other fires. We have made progress in this direction and I think these are issues that we need to capitalize on,” he said.

Visit to the fire affected areas

Earlier, the Prime Minister visited the indoor gymnasium of Nea Penteli High School, where he was welcomed by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Staikouras and Penteli Mayor Natassa Kosmopoulou. Kyriakos Mitsotakis was informed about the timetable for the implementation of the works in the gym, which will be carried out by the TERNA company at its own expense.

Then the prime minister went to the Holy Monastery of Penteli, where he was received by the abbot. Kyriakos Mitsotakis was informed by the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilia about the findings regarding the way the fire spread. He also had the opportunity to talk to the ranks of the Fire Department and volunteer firefighters who were at the scene, whom he thanked for their work.

Immediately after, the Prime Minister visited the facilities of the National Observatory of Athens, where he was welcomed by the Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors Manolis Pleionis, the Vice-President Spyros Vasilakos and the Director of Research Support Thanasis Marousis. Kyriakos Mitsotakis was informed about the fire protection measures that the Observatory had taken, carrying out regular cleaning of the surrounding area and installing fire extinguishing mechanisms.