We speak with Fay Zanetoulakou, Ph.D. in Art History at the Department of Architecture at the University of Thessaly, environmental activist, and member of the Active Citizens of Volos.
After the pollution in Volos affecting air, water, and soil by AGET-Lafarge, the devastating floods of 2023, the outbreak of the sheep and goat plague, and now the dead fish from Lake Karla being washed into the streams of Volos and the Pagasetic Gulf, the ecological damage is accelerating. Since last year and early this summer, residents, the Medical Association, and others have been sounding the alarm, and now, the danger is undeniably here.
What happened, and what projects were undertaken after the floods? What is the quality of drinking water? Why were the sluice gates of Karla left open? How contaminated is the lake with toxins, heavy metals, and other pollutants, and when did the fish start dying before ending up, lifeless, in the Pagasetic Gulf?
Was the work plan, initiated in 1999 with eight contracts and a budget of over 200 million euros, followed?
Where have the migratory birds gone?
Did the pumping stations on the Pinios River, the second most polluted river in Europe after the Po, function properly?
What happened with the Dutch company that was called in to manage the water and the damage after storms “Daniel” and “Ilias” subsided?
The photograph is a collage by Kostas Manolidis. How fitting are the festival-like, Christmas lights of Volos’ municipal authorities against the backdrop of the dense, silver layer of dead fish in the city’s sea?
Enjoy the broadcast!
ΛΙΣΤΑ ΜΟΥΣΙΚΗΣ: 1) Αρμυρίκια – Κρίστι Στασινοπούλου, 2) Η Ελλάδα είναι μια χώρα – Βασίλης Μηλιώνης & Θίασος, 3) Το κόστος της Αιώνιας Ποινής – Νίκος Αϊβαλής, 4) Σκοταδοχώρα – Δημήτρης Κάσσαρης