Athens mayor looking for site to build crematorium

The Municipality of Athens has issued an invitation for bids for a plot on which it can build the capital’s first crematorium, falling in line with European religious rights regulations.

Speaking at a meeting of the Municipal Council on Monday, Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis said that while it is preferable for the plot to be located within municipal borders, other proposals will be considered if they meet the necessary criteria.

“Shortly before the local elections in 2014, at a press conference, I presented a legal proposal drafted by Nikos Alivizatos and his associates for the construction and zoning of a crematorium. I asked the political parties to back it. Only a handful gave me their support at the time,” Kaminis told the council.

“In my second term as mayor I set as one of my priorities a right for which I have fought, which I taught at university and defended as ombudsman. Today, the Alivizatos proposal is law. The delay of the regional authorities is nothing compared to the decades of inaction shown by the state,” he added. “I have ordered that a plot fulfilling the criteria be found for lease or purchase.”