Tsipras: Compensation to quake-stricken a top priority
Main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras, who is visiting quake-stricken Arkalochori on Crete on Wednesday, sent a message to the government to speed up the necessary procedures so that the problems caused by the September 27 earthquake are quickly addressed.
Tsipras said that it was crucial that the area should not become deserted. "I came some days after the earthquake because very little can be done in the first few days. I came now and what we will do is to force the government to not abandon the region to its fate," he said.
The main opposition leader explained that there must be a plan for comprehensively restoring the damage, which must include a new town plan and the building of new homes at other locations.
After completing his visit to Arkalochori, Tsipras went to Houmeri in the municipality of Minoa Pediados and met local residents there, talking with people who have been living in tents since the first day of the earthquake about the dire situation they are currently facing.
Tsipras also visited the town of Melesses, where he was welcomed by the regional governor of Crete, Stavros Arnaoutakis, and local mayor Manolis Kokosalis, who briefed him on the housing and feeding of earthquake victims.
On his part, Tsipras said that giving compensation to those whose property and goods were damaged in the quake was a top priority, along with supporting businesses and employees that had lost their source of income and the area's school children.
Tsipras will later attend a meeting at the regional authority of Crete with Arnaoutakis and the mayors of the regional unit of Heraklion.