Upon proposal of the Mayor of Policoro, Enrico Bianco and the Councilor for Agriculture Rosa Montesano, the Ionian municipal administration, with the resolution of today 27 June, declared a state of natural disaster. The decision was taken given the continuation of the drought which is hitting our territory hard, with municipal political administrators who are forced to ask for urgent structural interventions from the President of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of the Interior and the Basilicata Region, the in order to better deal with the water shortage to safeguard livestock farming and the production of agricultural companies, which are currently struggling to find the right volumes of water to allow fruit and vegetable production. Furthermore, considering the current and numerous reports from farmers, the Municipality of Policoro has declared that it intends to request the application of the exception to Legislative Decree 102 of 29 March 2004, n. 102 and subsequent amendments on natural disasters, which provides criteria for compensation and economic support to agricultural businesses that have suffered damage from adverse weather conditions, requiring extraordinary interventions in an adequate measure by the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies and the Basilicata Region, for the compensation of damage suffered across the entire sector.
Also the Municipality of Pisticci declared the state of natural disaster, below is the full statement: Following the persistent drought which is severely affecting the territory of Pisticci, on the proposal of the deputy mayor, Rossana Florio, the municipal council, with a resolution dated 25 June, declared the state of natural disaster. “We are in the midst of an emergency,” explained the mayor, Domenico Albano, “the area is facing an extremely serious drought, with considerable damage to agricultural and livestock businesses, forced to support a significant increase in water supply costs. We ask the Region and the relevant bodies not to fail to support a sector of fundamental importance for the economy of our territory”. An emergency that affects the entire Region. The Lucanian dams record minimum levels of water in the reservoirs, and the continuation of the drought predicts a decrease in supply by the Reclamation Consortium. Furthermore, the Lucano Aqueduct communicated on 19 June that the available water resources may not be sufficient to supply the entire municipal area of Pisticci in the coming days, causing serious inconvenience to the population. Given the seriousness of the situation and the numerous reports of damage from breeders and farmers, the Municipality of Pisticci has decided to classify this emergency in terms of a natural disaster. Last June 25th the Council unanimously decided to:
– Declare a state of natural disaster due to the continuation of the drought throughout the municipal territory of Pisticci. – Request the Basilicata Region to recognize the state of natural disaster and grant economic aid to affected breeders and farmers.
– Request financial support from the Basilicata Region and the bodies responsible for the creation of alternative infrastructures and/or systems necessary to reduce the critical issues reported. “We are committed to promoting all appropriate and necessary initiatives to support companies hit hard by this disaster. it is a dramatic situation that requires urgent interventions”, concluded the deputy mayor, Rossana Florio.
