Caravans leave protected area
Six caravans that were moved into the Foresta 2000 afforestation site early this month have now left the protected area, Din l-Art Helwa, Nature Trust (Malta) and BirdLife Malta announced.
The caravans were part of a larger group that were evicted from an area adjacent to the Mellieha Bay Hotel on June 30.
The NGOs contacted the authorities and demanded the removal of the caravans from the protected area after the caravans were moved into the project site at Mellieha.
A meeting between the NGOs and Mellieha mayor Robert Cutajar was held last week. Following the meeting the mayor informed the NGOs that the caravans would be leaving the Foresta 2000 project site within a few days. The caravans started leaving the protected area early this week and the last ones left today.
“We thank Mr Cutajar for meeting us and taking swift action to solve the problem. We believe that communication between the authorities and the NGOs need to improve in order to avoid similar problems in other protected areas in the future,” the NGOs said.
The Foresta 2000 afforestation project is managed by the Parks department of the Ministry for Rural Affairs and Resources, BirdLife Malta and Din l-Art Helwa. The site is also protected as a bird sanctuary and is given international protection as a Natura 2000 site under the EU nature conservation directives.
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charles vella
Jul 22nd 2009, 19:55
Well done Robert (mayor)for the facts that you go straight to the point. Let us all help to bring
the blue flag, we should be proud off.Well done for those who cooperated not to do
barbeques on our lovely sandy beach, leaving skips on the pavement,and umbrellas in order.
Peter Murray
Jul 22nd 2009, 18:39
It would be interesting to learn why only at this extremely late stage did the Mayor of Mellieha ,under the auspices of the Mellieha Local Council,finally relent to become involved in this obvious violation of acceptable or proper practices,which had been perpetrated for a number of years and is not a remotely merely a recent aberration.As I had lodged a formal complaint some years previously with both the GOVERNMENT LAND/PROPERTY DIVISION,along with the Mellieha Local Council(including the Mayor)of both the present administration and the previous incumbents,and strongly objected to the presence of these caravans at the site in question -all to absolutely no effect.(Copies of all such documentation I still possess as corroboration of this claim)It would appear that only when such issues are made public and high-profiled is affirmative ,or any,action deemed appropriate by the authorities and in particular the subsequent involvement of the Mayor of Mellieha,and if If one wished to colour me cynical I would cite self-proclamation and opportunism as being highly prevalent.As why did it take until only very recently before any enforcement action was eventually initiated?
Kevin Busuttil
Jul 22nd 2009, 17:47
What about Bahar ic-Caghaq?
Slums were removed a few months ago but somehow they have reappeared! Not only that, the beach is polluting not only with rubbish but with human excrements!
AUTHORITIES TAKE NOTICE
P Micallef
Jul 22nd 2009, 17:28
Well done for the action taken from all those concerned. How about some attention to the southern part of the island. this is the area where the President and the Prime Minister have their private residences.
St Thomas Bay has become a slum area. Yesterday on CNN I saw a video clip of the Mumbai slum area. It is not very different.
Shall we look forward for some action in this area? Or this is another one of the untouchable republics?
M. Attard
Jul 22nd 2009, 16:56
The St. Thomas Bay caravans occupying the public foreshore were served with eviction notices on the 25th June and they are still there. They are polluting the sea with all their rubbish. There are no mobile toilets.