Frankie Vella, Xewkija
Citadel under attack from weeds
To weed or not to weed. This is the question that is upon many people's lips.
The Citadel in Victoria is, as many know, a world heritage site, apart from the unrivalled beauty that has been depicted in many a tourist's holiday picture.
It is now covered in unsightly weeds. Apart from the cosmetic damage that the weeds are causing, what about the structural damage? Over the past few years one would see a group of volunteers from the local Red Cross unit honing their skills in the art of abseiling and at the same time ridding the bastions of this eyesore.
I would like to ask the officials in charge of looking after this site the following questions:
Why has the Citadel been allowed to "grow" into this state?
Has the local Red Cross lost interest? Has there been a lack of funds/backing?
Surely, the one structure that had protected us for so many years deserves the right to be protected in this day and age!
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Henry A. Grima
Jun 20th 2008, 19:53
tThe Citadel in Gozo is not the only place that is being 'afforestated'.
This week is was passing by St Lucian Tower in Birzebbugia, (or is it Marsaxlokk?) and a tourist was taking pictures of it and asked me why it seems as if it is not used for anything useful but to dump all sorts of paraphnelia around it.
He would not believe that it was used as the only place where propogation of captive fish is expertly done for local needs and for export.
This week there was news and a lot of fanfare that bastions around our World Heritage Walled City, Valletta was going to be cleaned of weeds.
What I saw on TV, a soldier 'clearing' weeds, made me shudder at the damage he did just cutting, at arm's lenght, hacking at it, and the stonework around it, with a machette.
The weeds will just grow again if they are not treated with weed killer.
No wonder weeds just grew again on the Vittoriosa bastions after they were cleaned a few years ago.
Let's be a bit proffessional, not amateurish, as usual!!