Five individuals have been arrested for drug trafficking after authorities raided a residence in Acharnes, on the northwestern outskirts of Athens, on Tuesday.  During the operation, police seized over 1.4 kilograms of heroin, 344 grams of cannabis, 16 grams of cocaine, 3.1 grams of ketamine and several weapons, along with just over €15,000 in cash, four scales, three mobile phones and a safe.    According to Greek police, the defendants were involved in trafficking heroin, cocaine, and cannabis, primarily operating from a home base in Acharnes. Investigations confirmed that two of the five arrested individuals were part of a larger trafficking ring, distributing significant quantities of heroin, cannabis, and ketamine near an addiction treatment unit in Athens. The defendants, facing charges for drug and firearms offenses, were taken to the relevant prosecuting authority. They have previous charges for similar and other offenses. Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights, opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. PPR was first described in Ivory Coast in 1942 and has since spread across Africa I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Goat plague is the last thing Ioanna Karra needs The Greek farmer lost nearly all her livestock and equipment in devastating flooding last year and now, as the deadly virus spreads across Greek farms, she must buy expensive disinfectant to keep her remaining animals safe “We cannot bear the slightest damage for a second year in a row,” Karra told Reuters from her dairy farm in the village of Zilefti in the Thessaly region of central Greece also known as Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) was detected last month for the first time in Greece but is highly contagious among goats and sheep and can kill up to 70% of those infected the affected farm is disinfected and authorities test animals in nearby areas for the disease in line with protocols set by the European Union The government this week imposed a temporary ban on the movement or slaughter of sheep and goats 12,000 animals have been culled and more than 300,000 tested While the numbers are not yet devastating, they worry farmers across Greece who are already battling the effects of climate change including blistering heat and erratic rainfall. Karra and her husband Thanasis Zouzoulas have no recorded cases of the disease. But they have to disinfect trucks that come to load milk on their farm. The ban on movements means they cannot buy more animals to bulk up their flock, although they are allowed to sell the milk. Karra said they have become much stricter with hygiene security measures. The virus comes as the couple still struggles with the consequences of record September storms that flooded about 35,000 acres in Thessaly plain, which accounts for 25% of Greece‘s agricultural produce and 5% of Greece‘s GDP. Some 30,000 farmers were impacted across the province. Karra and Zouzoulas lost 750 of their 800 animals and have only begun to restock. They say the virus came in to Greece because veterinary clinics are understaffed and do not make the necessary checks on imported animals. “We were talking about a possible crisis before the crisis,” Karra said. PPR was first described in Ivory Coast in 1942 and has since spread across Africa, Europe and Asia. The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the disease results in losses of up to $2.1 billion globally each year. Georgios Stratakos, a senior agriculture ministry official, said that the virus was imported but does not know where from yet. He said the ban will last until Sunday and be re-evaluated. The government is looking into compensation for those that lost livestock in the culling or were affected by the ban, he said. “It is definitely a big blow, but the government...will stand by these people.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies {"adUnitPath":"71347885/_main_independent/gallery","autoGallery":true,"disableAds":false,"gallery":[{"data":{"title":"Wildfires Photo Gallery","description":"Firefighter evacuate a goat during a wildfire in Acharnes a suburb of northern Athens, Greece, Aug. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)","caption":"Firefighter evacuate a goat during a wildfire in Acharnes a suburb of northern Athens, Greece, August 23, 2023 Firefighter evacuate a goat during a wildfire in Acharnes a suburb of northern Athens, Greece, August 23, 2023 Greece's Finance Minister and the Governor of the Bank of Greece highlight the country's economic momentum, stressing the importance of investments, reforms, and crackdown on tax evasion. Based on current evidence, police believe the 38-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man — in whose name the apartment linked to the case was rented — were manipulated into playing minor roles. Scattered Showers and Storms in the Mainland, Increased Dust Levels, Mild Winds, Unseasonably Warm Temperatures On the occasion of the dour anniversary “To Vima” on Monday published several testimonies of eyewitnesses of the Marfin attack A criminal investigation has been ordered following a near collision between two commuter trains between Athens and Agioi Anargyroi stations on Friday morning The Acharnes station manager mistakenly ordered train 1307 to take a single track already occupied by train 1210 Prompt action by the Athens station manager and the driver of the 1210 averted the collision The Acharnes stationmaster was suspended for 30 days Hellenic Train reported that while the stationmaster was at fault the quick actions of the drivers prevented a collision Sources said that the line is currently single-track due to construction work and that the remote control system is offline Greece is still reeling from the worst rail accident in its history on February 28 most of them university students returning from a long weekend break Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker a number of haunting wooden sculptures stand outside the grounds of an abandoned sanatorium The outdoor exhibition brings together the tragic history of the mountaintop site: the devastating effects of tuberculosis and a catastrophic forest fire tuberculosis decimated the population of Greece The Parnitha Sanatorium was built in the 1930s to replace a smaller facility that originally stood on the mountain  The sunshine and crisp mountain air were thought to aid in recovery improvements in medicine reduced the demand for these kinds of facilities and the sanatorium on Mount Parnitha shut down first as a hotel and then as an educational facility but it had fallen out of use by the mid-80s and was abandoned a series of forest fires broke out across Greece One of those fires led to some 38,000 acres of burnt area on Mount Parnitha including the area around the Parnitha Sanatorium. Inspired by the history of the Parnitha Sanatorium and the fire-scorched landscape Greek sculptor Spyridon Dassiotis chose the space opposite the imposing facility to create the Park of Souls.  carving 20 sculptures of people into the burnt tree trunks that remained after the 2007 fire.  aiming to express the feelings of the people in the sanatorium during the period of their confinement This mountainside open-air museum was built from the ashes left behind by a devastating fire This massive piece of artwork weighs more than 250 tons and was designed as a tribute to the first president of the United Arab Emirates A collection of whimsical metal sculptures scattered along a forest path A sculpted indigenous garden featuring more than 60 works by Dylan Lewis 3D-printed clay figures captures the essence of local young people An extraterrestrial-themed art exhibit makes the perfect place to crash-land while interacting with Andean culture and history This town of 100 people has approximately one bronze sculpture for every two residents open-air art exhibit featuring world-renowned sculptures hides in plain sight on the outskirts of Orlando The first meeting of the newly established Joint Commission on the social problem of human trafficking between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece The meeting was hosted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the blessing of Ecumenical Patriarch and took place in the Chamber of the Hierarchs at the Patriarchal Residence The meeting was co-chaired by Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain The Ecumenical Patriarchate was represented by Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain Senior Research Fellow at Cambridge University; and the gracious Ms Programme Officer for Theology and Studies at the Conference of European Churches (CEC) The Church of Greece was represented by Metropolitan Athenagoras of Ilion Deacon Nikodemos Malamatenios; and the esteemed Mr scientific collaborator of the Holy Metropolis of Ilion The working session of the Joint Commission began with an opening prayer by Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira described the primary goal of the Joint Commission emphasizing the importance of training clergy to identify victims and raising society’s awareness of the tragic reality about the prevalence of slavery and human trafficking During the proceedings of the first session particular emphasis was also placed on recognizing various aspects of slavery and human trafficking with a special focus on the need for a comprehensive understanding beyond sex trafficking Archbishop Nikitas emphasized the relevance of these issues to society and the overall responsibility and position of the Church in protecting human dignity and the human person The Joint Commission proposed the organization of seminars and conferences in Athens and policymakers on identifying and combating slavery and human trafficking a joint circuit was proposed to inform the Church’s faithful about the issue accompanied by the creation of a “toolkit” and a series of seminars to be delivered in five modules during Great Lent 2025 These sessions will incorporate theological and biblical perspectives using biblical narratives as parallels to contemporary slavery cases the Commission finally proposed the establishment of three conferences would offer a platform for victims of human trafficking to share their firsthand experiences the event aims to raise awareness through strategic collaboration with notable figures from various spheres and by leveraging social media platforms with the aim of amplifying the Church’s message and mobilizing collective action against human trafficking The main theological axis of the Commission’s discussions was the concept of slavery as a result of sin and the liberation from it through the message of Christ’s Resurrection The session concluded with a closing prayer by Metropolitan Athenagoras of Ilion Archbishop Makarios of Australia will be conferred the title of Honorary Doctor by both the Department of Theology and.. The Vatican announced on Monday that all telephone communication within its territory will be suspended during the upcoming conclave.. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew delivered the keynote address at the International Scientific Conference “Restarting from Nicaea:.. The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate approved on October 4th the canonization of Eldress Sophia Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew traveled by air to Antalya (function() { window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { listeners: [] cb) { window.mc4wp.listeners.push( { event : evt callback: cb } ); } } }})(); © 2023 OrthodoxTimes.com - All rights reserved Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website These cookies do not store any personal information Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website Hundreds of firefighters in Greece are battling dozens of wildfires as Europe swelters under yet another extreme heat wave Greece has had a devastating wildfire season this year experiencing its worst recorded fires in July since at least 2003 deadly wildfires tore through parts of the Greek island of Rhodes forcing thousands of tourists to flee their hotels in what Greek officials said was the largest evacuation effort in the country's history '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" Mounds of waste have again been found dumped on the banks of Athens’s main river a Greek environmental group said on Tuesday Vassilis Sfakianopoulos of clean-up group Save Your Hood said the dump on the riverbank included nappies and medical records from one of the capital’s main hospitals in addition to rubbish from at least two nearby businesses a foreign airline and a swanky central Athens restaurant “It seems (the waste) was gathered somewhere else before it was brought to this location,” Sfakianopoulos “This must be investigated,” he said Save Your Hood had recently carried out clean-up operations elsewhere along Kifissos so seeing the new dump was a “gut punch” He added that according to locals in the municipality of Acharnes the illegal fly-tipping operation was probably carried out under cover of darkness months ago Illegal waste disposal is a long-running problem in Greece that has resulted in millions of euros (dollars) in fines from the European Union The hospital said it had assigned its records removal to a private contractor and would cooperate with any investigation it is a habitual flood risk to nearby communities at times of heavy rainfall The greater Athens regional authority said in a statement to AFP it had removed over 45,000 cubic metres (1.6 million cubic feet) of waste from the riverbed over the past months It said it had alerted police and justice officials to investigate The local council in Acharnes was approached for comment FOX28 Spokane© © 2020 FOX28SPOKANE.com All rights reserved KAYU FOX Television 4600 S Regal St Spokane FCC Applications Client Payment Portal Job Openings Aug 23 (EFE).- Firefighters in Greece were struggling Wednesday to control massive forest fires that have been raging for five days and have killed at least 28 people The fires have burned more than 43,000 hectares Thick smoke has stretched 950 kilometers (590 miles) southwest of the fire’s epicenter covering 80% of the country’s surface some 110,000 square kilometers (42,400 square miles) Several fire fronts are out of control as a new wave of scorching heat severe drought and high winds hamper firefighting efforts This summer has been the worst since meteorological records began,” Vassilis Kikilias Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection firefighters have tackled 355 forest fires 209 of which were declared in the last 48 hours the “high risk” fire alert was extended to 18 regions of the country and to “extremely critical” in the vicinity of the Parnitha National Park “All our efforts are focused on halting the fire front while continuing the superhuman efforts of our firefighters volunteers and citizens on the parallel fire fronts we face,” he said 9 helicopters and 8 seaplanes were battling to contain the fire in Parnitha which has raged uncontrollably for almost 30 hours causing unquantifiable material damage and forcing the evacuation of four towns on Wednesday The most devastating fire broke out on Saturday near the town of Alexandroupolis in the northeastern region of Evros about 25 kilometers from the Turkish border Authorities found 18 charred bodies of suspected irregular migrants in a forest in the Evros region on Wednesday where a local farmer also died trying to save his animals Greek media reported that the bodies of nine more irregular migrants were found in the area but there has been no official confirmation The rapid advance of the flames has prompted civil protection officials to order the evacuation of two towns in the area on Thursday firefighters are also battling 9 high-risk fires in Attica 6 in Boeotia and 1 on the island of Euboea where 35 firefighters 12 vehicles and 2 planes were involved in extinguishing a fire declared at noon Wednesday in Kondodespoti “The civil protection unit is giving 110% of its strength,” the minister stressed The fires have also forced the evacuation of several towns nursing homes and a migrant detention center north of Athens The National Observatory of Athens has warned that high concentrations of microparticles have been recorded even hundreds of kilometers from the fire fronts Smoke and odors from the fire in the town of Fili “I closed all the windows so as not to inhale the ashes but the temperature in my apartment has risen to more than 40 degrees,” a woman living in Athens told Efe “In my 32 years of service with the corps I have never seen such extreme conditions,” said fire chief George Pournaras at a press conference Wednesday The fire brigade spokesman Giannis Artopios expressed hope that the winds would die down from 6 pm on Thursday Devastating wildfires ravaging Greece have fuelled mob attacks against refugees and migrants who are being blamed for causing the fires Many are being assaulted and/or pushed back from Greek borders by the police.  The vigilante violence and spike in racist anti-refugee rhetoric comes despite the fact 19 of 20 people who died from the fires this week are believed to be asylum seekers.  Paraschos Christou Papadakis, an ultra-nationalist MP, claimed on his Facebook page that migrants and refugees had started the fires, according to Amnesty International The Greek ministry of migration and asylum commenting on the death of suspected asylum seekers in the fires the dangers of irregular immigration".  Such claims have spread widely among far-right groups.  This is despite the Greek fire department's confirmation earlier this week that the fires were sparked by lightning and were not man-made.  groups of vigilantes say they have taken the law into their own hands organising "bounty hunting" missions to round up refugees mainly in Alexandroupolis city in Greece’s northeastern Evros region One man boasted in a video shared online of having locked up 13 asylum seekers in his van He blamed them for the fires and called for a “pogrom” on refugees in the area He was subsequently arrested for "illegal detention" along with two people suspected of helping him.  The people he abducted - who are believed to be Pakistani and Syrian - were also arrested and are due to appear before the public prosecutor on charges of arson Another video showed a group of people taking instructions on how to target migrants from a man dressed in military uniform.  On Tuesday, firefighters found the charred remains of 18 suspected refugees in the Dadia forest in Evros. Another dead body was found nearby on Thursday. At least two of the 19 were children. Seven to eight of the bodies were found huddled together in the forest, according to Reuters “At a time when at least 19 refugees are dead, instead of the state assuming its responsibilities, we unfortunately see its representatives obfuscating reality, and in some cases accepting, if not fomenting, racist discourse and practices,” Refugee Support Aegean, an NGO that supports refugees, said.  The densely wooded area where some of the fires are raging, and which borders Turkey is a well-trodden route taken by refugees hoping to reach Europe Refugees often hide in the forest to avoid detection by Greek authorities who have been accused of mistreating asylum seekers and sometimes pushing them back to Turkey or the sea Clusters of refugees have been spotted in the path of the advancing wall of flames in recent days.  Alarm Phone, a volunteer-run hotline to support people on the move, was in contact with around 250 people and raised repeated alerts on social media.  Asylum seekers had told the organisation that the fires were getting close and that they needed help.  are still being attacked by the Greek authorities' The pleas went unanswered for days, Alarm Phone said.  "We informed the authorities [but] they just said ‘we were looking for the group and we could not find them’," an Alarm Phone spokesperson told Middle East Eye "This is a pattern we have witnessed for a long time; this is what they say whenever a pushback is about to happen,” the spokesperson added Alarm Phone said that all four groups it was in contact with had been pushed back It also received reports of groups of refugees being “surrounded” by riot police, and photos of people wounded from beatings are still being attacked by the Greek authorities,” Alarm Phone told MEE “It obviously also raises the question… during [such a] moment how can the Greek authorities find time to execute these violent attacks?” Amid the increased violence and toxic anti-refugee rhetoric campaigners have highlighted the glaring disparity between the pervasive presence of riot police in the fire areas and the resource-starved fire service battling to extinguish the flames According to Border Violence Monitoring Network, the Greek police force received 29 times the amount of funding allocated to the fire services in 2023 This ratcheting militarisation has turned the Evros region into a "no-man’s-land" where acts of violence perpetrated by the authorities and vigilante "migrant hunters" happen undetected due to a lack of civic officials in the region, Alarm Phone said must be described as systematic forms of torture' “What we are seeing is a continuation of violence against people on the move but it is practised more openly," the volunteer group told MEE. “The testimonies we have published.. must be described as systematic forms of torture.” Caught in the crosshairs of spiralling climate breakdown and escalating militarisation of Europe’s borders, the refugees who are thought to have died in the fires this week were victims of the "two great injustices of our time", Amnesty International said on Wednesday  "Amnesty International calls on the Greek authorities to urgently evacuate all those stranded in the Evros region and who are unable to move safely due to fires and to ensure that refugees and migrants who have entered into Greece irregularly can seek asylum and are not illegally forcibly returned at the border," the group said.  "The Greek authorities must publicly condemn and investigate any act of racist violence or speech or incitement to such behaviours Firefighters in Greece battled more than 200 blazes in 48 hours this week in a second deadly wave of wildfires that has engulfed swathes of the country The Evros fire is thought to be the most devastating on record in the EU. Copyright © 2014 - 2025. Middle East Eye. All rights reserved. Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters. Middle East Eye          ISSN 2634-2456                      Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world 2024 at 11:47 AM EDTBookmarkSaveGreek firefighters are battling more blazes as searing heat bakes southern Europe from Spain to Romania about 15 kilometers (9 miles) north of Athens engulfed factories before being largely contained Greece has been hit by hundreds of wildfires The soundtrack includes songs by Hoobastank Sugar Ray and even Steven Yeun and the cast Netflix dropped the soundtrack for its hit limited thriller series “Beef.” the feud brings out their innermost darkest sides.  The cast includes Wong The A24-produced thriller was created by Lee Sung Jin Series leads Wong and Yeun also serve as executive producers.  and the soundtrack includes songs by prominent artists Christina Aguilera Hoobstank and even tracks from Yeun and some of the cast Here are all the songs you can bop to while watching “Beef.”    Episode 4: “Just Not All At the Same Time” “Beef” is currently streaming on Netflix A monument commemorating 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Greece was unveiled in the northeastern part of the Athens metropolis – in the city of Acharnes, Delovoy Kazakhstan reports The original bronze monument is in the shape of an apple embodying its ancestral homeland of Kazakhstan which has been considered a symbol of peace and prosperity in Greece from ancient times The initiative of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Greece was supported by the Mayor of Acharnes Spyros Vrettos The unanimous decision of the members of the city council allocated a place for the monument on the central square directly opposite the city hall which located in 11 km from the center of the capital and is part of the Athens metropolitan area compactly inhabited by more than 30 thousand Greeks from Kazakhstan who have returned to their historic homeland Ambassador Yerlan Baudarbek-Kozhatayev in his welcoming speech noted that the monument is an example of «people's diplomacy» and a vivid example of the continuous cultural connection between Kazakhstan and Greece The project was implemented with the sponsorship of the company «DKG Development» father and son Ioannis and Constantine Petridis Historical attractions in the municipality of Acharnes are the Tatoi Palace of greek royal family and the convent «Agia Paraskevi» is the ancestor of the modern varieties of the apple DKNews International News Agency is registered with the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The amount of 1,000,000 cubic meters per year is estimated to be the water saved for Athenians if Hadrian’s Aqueduct is utilized along its entire length This means—although it may seem utterly inconceivable—that an ancient water project crossing eight municipalities of Athens from Acharnes to Kolonaki and covering a distance of 24 kilometers still has the capacity to transfer 1,000,000 cubic meters of water annually for any use other than drinking wherever there is a connection to Hadrian’s Aqueduct will replace the consumption of drinking water from the EYDAP network aside from saving this precious resource—especially under drought conditions due to the climate crisis—the non-potable water of Hadrian’s Aqueduct contains nutrients beneficial for plant growth potable water is wasted in irrigation as it undergoes cleaning and filtration processes that neutralize trace elements valuable to plants Equally remarkable as the endurance of the ancient Roman aqueduct and its functionality is the fact that it participates in the natural water cycle in the environment: based on its operating principle Hadrian’s Aqueduct “captures” water (a technical term meaning it gathers water from natural cavities and streams encountered—or formerly encountered—along its route) When users draw quantities for their needs ideally replenishing the underground aquifer and thus this type of water cycle is referred to as “circular/green economy practices,” etc as demonstrated by the pilot reactivation of a section of the aqueduct approximately 4.5 kilometers long passing through the lower side of Chalandri Regarding the potential full utilization of the aqueduct’s 24-kilometer length According to this study and corresponding calculations the benefit for the water reserves of the capital across a chain of eight neighborhoods (Acharnes Ampelokipi) would amount to about 1,000,000 cubic meters annually it will be fascinating to see how the Hadrian’s Aqueduct revitalization project will function in practice EYDAP will begin a trial supply of non-potable water to Chalandri residents who expressed interest and connected to the network constructed over the past few months supplementary and parallel to the aqueduct pipeline the plan aimed to serve about 70 consumers the overwhelming response from interested parties tripled the demand compelling EYDAP to further enhance the supplementary infrastructure to ensure the technical smoothness of the non-potable water distribution network in Chalandri Chalandri is pioneering by utilizing an ancient monument not as a tourist attraction green urban development project emphasizing sustainability and community participation in every aspect—from design to promotion and historical documentation Centered around the reactivation of the aqueduct various cultural activities were developed in a broad sense ranging from water management by the local community to redevelopments around EYDAP and aqueduct works Through the Cultural HIDRANT Project and funding from the European Union the Municipality of Chalandri has elevated the revival of Hadrian’s Aqueduct to a global model “Reintegrating Hadrian’s Aqueduct into the daily lives of Chalandri residents for their non-potable water needs is immensely significant which previously ended in the sea without being utilized—from Parnitha to the Dexameni reservoir in Kolonaki (although in practice Hadrian’s Aqueduct is not continuous due to damage in at least three locations)—is now restored.” Now at least Chalandri residents and potentially future residents of the other seven aqueduct municipalities understand that they can contribute to water conservation by using non-potable water for watering trees in their gardens “It is noteworthy that non-potable water networks exist in many cities in Europe—and beyond non-potable water is used by the local municipality for irrigation and cleaning purposes citizens themselves are given the opportunity to use it Chalandri’s example has attracted interest from at least 15 cities across Europe to transfer our expertise and methodology applied to Hadrian’s Aqueduct to locations with existing older non-potable water supply infrastructure will visit Chalandri as part of the first Policy Workshop on managing cultural and natural resources under the European Urban Initiatives program Water distribution to Chalandri residents from Hadrian’s Aqueduct will occur in two ways: directly and indirectly Properties close to the pipelines will connect directly to the designated waterlines Consumers farther away will receive non-potable water from two water tankers acquired by the Municipality of Chalandri for this purpose The distribution will be managed by the Hadrian Chalandri Community essentially a committee comprised of residents in collaboration with a special-purpose cooperative who will deliver water to consumers’ tanks The unexpectedly high demand increased the network’s projected supply from 25,000 to 80,000–90,000 cubic meters annually specifically within Chalandri’s boundaries while redevelopments around the aqueduct route amounted to €5.5 million integrating the project into the appropriate EU program has its own unique history The initial idea for the aqueduct’s reuse had been discussed for years but credit for initiating the necessary steps is owed mainly to a Chalandri municipality official the municipality drafted a proposal to include the aqueduct reactivation project in the Cultural HIDRANT program The Greek proposal was one of 11—out of 222—selected by the EU authority for Urban Innovative Actions which manages resources from the European Regional Development Fund Although Chalandri Municipality assumed overall supervision and responsibility for the program its proposal was co-developed with seven other partners: EYDAP the Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos (MedINA) the NGO “Ohi Paizoume – Urban Dig,” the Antiquities Authority of East Attica and the Institute of Regional Development of Panteion University with the involvement of two local associations Collaboration also extended to 12 schools across all educational levels in the area The vision of the residents of Chalandri extended beyond the reuse of the Hadrianic Aqueduct aiming to integrate it into as many aspects of daily life as possible as well as into the contemporary urban fabric of the city Giovanopoulos highlights: “This approach differs from the simple showcasing of the Hadrianic Aqueduct as a monument or tourist attraction meant to draw visitors to the city the urban renovations planned and mostly implemented—the largest ever undertaken in Chalandri covering a total area of 21,500 square meters—aim to improve residents’ quality of life through: 1) the creation of new public green spaces 2) the expansion of the green zone and walking paths along the Rematia stream 3) the connection of the Syneikisimos area with the city center through a continuous pedestrian zone and 4) the use of water and green elements to create a microclimate as a contribution to combating the greenhouse effect the historical highlighting of the largely hidden Hadrianic Aqueduct extends beyond its identity as an ancient monument It is approached as a collective heritage asset through documenting its presence in the recent and older life of Chalandri and the relationship of the city’s residents with it.” The Roman emperor Hadrian (117–138 AD) aspired to ensure the luxury of baths for the aristocrats of Athens he commissioned the construction of an aqueduct initiated during his reign but completed by his successor the main artery of the Hadrianic Aqueduct is an underground tunnel carved into natural rock with a height of approximately 1.20–1.60 meters and a width of 50 centimeters The project was executed by digging 465 shafts along the aqueduct’s route each with a maximum diameter of 1.40 meters and depths ranging from 10 to 42 meters The aqueduct’s main axis began at the so-called “inclined gallery” in the area of today’s Olympic Village in the Municipality of Acharnes and ended at the Reservoir located at the eponymous square in Kolonaki The aqueduct’s route was designed to follow the gentlest path in terms of elevation changes It operated primarily by naturally tapping into the groundwater layers of the earth and secondarily by transporting water from specific springs located at the foothills of Mount Parnitha The aqueduct was further supplemented by several adjacent streams along its course it remained functional for several centuries before being abandoned It was reactivated in 1847 following the establishment of the independent Greek state and the relocation of the capital to Athens to address the city’s acute water supply problem successive cleaning and repair works were carried out The Hadrianic Aqueduct served as Athens’ main water supply source until 1931 it remained in auxiliary use until the mid-1970s major infrastructure projects for the Athens Olympic Stadium and other developments caused significant damage to the aqueduct Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr