New homes for Ptolemaida villagers
Thousands of residents of two communities located near polluting lignite-fired power plants in Ptolemaida, northern Greece, are going to have their wishes of being moved elsewhere fulfilled, it was revealed yesterday.
The decree to move the inhabitants of Akrini and Aghioi Anargyroi has been included in a bill on biodiversity prepared by the Environment Ministry, which is to be submitted to Parliament soon. It will be the eighth time since 1972 that communities have been moved from areas close to the power stations, which produce harmful emissions.
The cost of building new homes for more than 2,000 villagers will be shared by the Public Power Corporation (PPC), which runs the plants, and the state. A project to build a new power station has already begun and when the plant is completed, by 2015, all the other lignite units in Ptolemaida will be closed.
