Last week, the leader of the “Beautiful City” faction, Pantelis Kolokas, was quick to blame the previous municipal authorities (and the municipal authority of Th. Bega, in the period 2014-2019, in which he was deputy mayor) for the project of the lakeside bike path- pedestrian path from Matsika to Perama.
His intervention was made on the occasion of the new law 5092/2024 which may bring changes to the definition of the shore of Lake Pamvotida, with Mr. Koloka speaking of “justification” of what he had said in the past (that “it will not be done either half a meter cycle path”) and for the vindication of the resident-owners.
During today’s meeting of the Municipal Council, Mr. Begas came to respond to these statements of Mr. Koloka and to the responsibilities that the latter attributed to the construction of the bicycle-pedestrian path. He also clarified that the bicycle path-pedestrian path passes between the red and yellow lines of the coastal zone, based on the definition of the lake’s boundaries that had been made, as well as that the land expropriations in this zone have been done by the state. He went on to say that the only thing the Municipality of Ioannita did was to draw up the cadastral tables to pay the compensations.
As for the 12 million euros lost by the region, Mr. Begas called on Mr. Kolokas to explain “to which body this funding was given, because it does not concern the Municipality of Ioannito”. Hypothetically, this funding was to be given to the Region of Epirus, but the Region of Epirus never received it because it did not submit the project, which did not have a mature study, to the “Ant. Tritsis”.
In addition, Mr. Begas stated that “any legislative development will be taken into account by the agencies and if necessary – if necessary, I say – the corresponding actions will be taken” and he emphasized the draft of the Presidential Decree on the Lake which is ignored again. “As long as the Presidential Decree is not institutionalized, there will continue to be loopholes that will allow cheap actions at the expense of the lake,” he stressed.
Mr. Kolokas, in his deposition, took a softer line, and gave himself some… credit. “Prediction, which is also the art of politics, led me to predict that not a single meter of bike path will be built,” he said.
He also said the other thing: That “we must be resourceful and not demanding”. His prediction is based on property, with Mr. Koloka reiterating that, with the demarcation of the lake as it was done in 2006, “there has been a process of property grabbing” and “ostracism from the ancestral homes”, while avoiding any reference to the right of citizens to have free access to the lake.
He predicted again that even this time there won’t be a bike lane “because the planning is wrong. The boundaries must be redefined and the project must be redesigned.” It is a fact, however, that the footpath-pedestrian project, after its design, did not progress much.
