After two days of tension with residents gathered in Karavas, with police forces deployed at the site of the controversial drilling, the Mayor of Kythera, Efstratios Harhalakis, chose not to meet the citizens but to respond with a Facebook post.
In his text he appears to talk about «intimidating reactions» and «undocumented fears», presenting himself as allegedly endangered. At the same time, however, it is he who publicly threatens residents that they have «illegal and undeclared wells and boreholes», even announcing inspections, instead of standing face to face with the community.
The irony, as the Caravanserai point out, is that the mayor at the time for two years avoids any dialogue with the village and has never set foot in a people's assembly. Nevertheless, today he appears via Facebook to collectively accuse them, question the legitimacy of their objections and announce that ’drilling will go ahead as planned«.
Read below the post of Mr. Harhalakis:
«Intimidating reactions and undocumented fears about a drilling!
This summer was the smoothest in the last 15 years in terms of water supply in Kythera. This was neither by miracle nor by chance. It was achieved thanks to the gradual completion of important water supply projects that we have funded in recent years and which the opposition systematically voted against when the Budget was being drafted. New water supply networks, new boreholes, dredging of old existing boreholes, telemetry, desalination, variations of old networks, etc. Projects that with proper studies, struggle and effort we managed to finance and complete.
One of these projects is the project «Drilling and Replacement of Municipal Boreholes of the Municipality of Kythera», with a total budget of 640.106,90€, which we managed to finance from the Recovery Fund. This project includes the controversial drilling in Diakopoulianika, right next to the existing drilling that has been in place for decades.
Unfortunately, however, while in all the villages of Kythera the residents and our institutions are urging us for new drilling, even indicating specific locations, in Diakopoulianika a small portion of the residents rebelled, with the backs, unfortunately, of some elected officials who have not yet understood what their institutional role is, by projecting unacceptable lies and unthinkable spikes for this project. They have claimed that the drilling is illegal, that there is no study, that there are no permits, etc.
But what is really true?;
1. The drilling is based on a legal geological study prepared and approved by geological scientists of the Technical University.
2. The study has been approved by all relevant bodies (Region, Municipal Committee, etc.).
3. The project is legally licensed by the Archaeological Service and the Secretary of the Decentralized Administration of Attica, which is the only competent body for the licensing of drilling (municipal and private).
4. The project was put out to tender by the Municipality through an electronic tender and the entire public procurement procedure of Law 4412/2016 was followed.
Therefore, those who claim that the drilling lacks legality are not only wrong, but are lying and slandering, with all that this implies.
Let's move on.
Will this drilling dry up the streams of Karava? This is a joke. And above all, hypocrisy. Because I haven't seen any of the protesters say a single word about the dozens of private drilling operations in the area: are they all legal? Are they all registered with the Decentralized? Aren't they drying up the stream? Is it only the «Harhalakis drilling» that is drying up the stream?;
Let's be serious for once.
They were saying exactly the same thing about the drilling in Skoulandrianika and finally once it rains sufficiently the waterfall is running fine!
The easy solution for me would have been to send the drilling rig away and not drill. But in a few months when the area runs out of water, the same people who are now protesting against the drilling will be cursing the City because they won't have water in their homes!
Without wells, there is no water. Let everyone understand that. Only from desalination will certain settlements have water. It is impossible (technically and economically) to send the water from the desalination plants to Karavas and Diakopoulianika, to Drimonas and Karvounada, etc., and that too immediately.
One last thing.
I have never engaged in dialogue and negotiation under threats and intimidation, and I will not do so now. The drilling will take place as normal and we should all pray that water will be found because if it is not, the water supply in the area will now be intermittent and for as long as there is a supply. There is no other solution for the immediate water supply to the area. With theories and unworkable ideologies, there is no water...
I will accept a delegation of local residents only AFTER the drilling is completed, whether water is found or not.
The drilling will go ahead as normal.».
https://archive.vn/AxQQU
I do not know what intimidation and threats the gentleman is referring to. What he says seems to be just words in the air. I don't see any threats to the peaceful gatherings of residents. I see no intimidation in the sincere concerns of the residents.
Instead, I see residents being threatened with arrests (we are experiencing this too).
As for “if the residents insist on the claims, there will be inspections of drilling in the area”, I don't understand who is he threatening?;