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NAPLES - Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has ordered Naples schools to reopen despite fears that stinking heaps of uncollected garbage in the streets could spread disease.
More than 100,000 tonnes of refuse are festering on the roadsides of the southern city and surrounding areas after garbage trucks stopped working two weeks ago because tips are full.
Residents protesting against plans to reopen an old landfill clashed with police and overturned vehicles on Sunday, and several schools said they would stay shut after the winter break until the situation improved.
Prodi, who has warned the crisis threatens Italy's image and blames extremists for stirring opposition to reopening the landfill, said he was offended by the decision to shut schools and ordered them to reopen as scheduled.
He said the children would still be exposed to the same polluted atmosphere even if they were not at school. "If there is an emergency situation in any school, I'll send [crews] tonight to clean so that they can reopen tomorrow."
But some Neapolitans said they would not send their children to school under current conditions, while the mayor of a town on Naples' outskirts said schools in his area would be shut despite Prodi's orders.
- REUTERS
