Blame game persists over illegal beach bars on Rhodes

Dozens of beach bars continue to do brisk business this summer despite blatantly trespassing on public, environmentally sensitive and/or archaeologically protected land on the eastern Aegean island of Rhodes, as demolition orders for unlicensed structures sit in drawers at various services. 

Judicial investigations are under way for many of these violations, though Kathimerini understands that their completion is frozen at the police’s Department of Public Property, which should have forwarded the case files to a prosecutor months ago, a delay that is raising questions about the potential role of certain state officials.

In the meantime, Rhodes’ land zoning service blames delays in shutting down the illegal beach bars on the municipality and the failure to demolish them on the Decentralized Administration of the Aegean, which, in turn, claims it does not have the staff or equipment to respond in a timely manner.