Work at metro site in Exarchia begins under police protection

The construction of the worksite in the main square of the downtown Athens district of Exarchia for the new metro station began on Tuesday with a strong police presence.

Groups of citizens tried to block the setting up of the construction site, while tensions also rose when branches were cut from trees that were blocking the installation of the fencing.

Police even used chemicals to repel protesting citizens.

An afternoon protest meeting was also held in the area.

The contractor responsible for the preliminary work on all the sites where metro stations on Line 4 will be built had been notified a month ago “to be on standby,” in view of local reaction.

According to reports, during the weekend there were successive meetings between the Ministry of Infrastructure, Attiko Metro and the police to finalize the date.

The contractor was only notified on Monday in order to prevent the information from leaking out.

Work began at 4.30 a.m.

The installation of the construction site fence was completed at around 11 a.m., when the contractor’s crews left again, under police escort.

Attiko Metro assured Kathimerini that “all types of existing trees in Exarchia Square have been recorded and photographed and their dimensions have been fully recorded.”

“The vast majority of the trees and all of the shrubs are species that can be successfully transplanted and will be transplanted by specialized crews,” it stressed.