The President of the Republic promised today to visit Pedrogane Grande soon after criticizing the absence of statesmen in the region on the day that six years have passed since the fires that killed 66 people.
The 2017 Fire Victims Memorial, located off National Road 236-1, in Pobreis, Pedrogan Grande (Leiria), was unveiled on Thursday without any public ceremony to commemorate the victims of the June wildfires (66 dead) and October ( 49 dead) 2017
The absence of statesmen was criticized by the Pedrogane Grande Fire Victims Association, which today was visited by SDP General Secretary Hugo Soares and Liberal Initiative President Rui Rocha.
Speaking to RTP1, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa explained his absence by the absence of any organized ceremony, adding that he would soon be visiting the region incognito.
“The ceremony was not organized by any association or any official organization, and therefore I decided to do what I did last year, which is to remain incognito,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, believing that the visit could take place next year . a few days.
During this visit, the head of state said that he intends to assess on the ground “which of the lessons of Pedrogao worked worse”, pointing out the shortcomings in the economic recovery.
“What didn’t happen there was the economic recovery. People feel that this is a depressed area and that to a large extent it continues to be poor,” he added.
On the other hand, he noted as positive lessons learned in terms of fire fighting and prevention.
“In the immediate reconstruction there were ups and downs, agreements and disagreements, but, in spite of everything, something was reconstructed,” he said.
Today marks six years since fires broke out in Pedrogan Grande on June 17, 2017, spreading to neighboring municipalities, killing 66 people and injuring 253 others, seven of them seriously. The fires also destroyed about half a thousand homes and 50 businesses.
Most of the fatal victims were found on Estrada Nacional (EN) 236-1, which connects Castaneira de Pera and Figueiro dos Viños, next to which there is a memorial.
In October of the same year, other fires in the Central District killed 49 people and injured about 70, while about 1,500 houses and more than 500 businesses were completely or partially destroyed.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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