Ramla Bay must live up to its name

As the largest sandy beach in Gozo, Ramla Bay should be given priority and due attention. It is now full of pebbles, rocks as well as seaweed. These are an eyesore and create great inconvenience to visitors. They should be removed as is being done in some bays in Malta.

Ramla Bay should be kept in its original and natural state, that is, as a sandy beach, because it is gradually being allowed to turn into a rocky beach. This will make it less popular with tourists, and thus affect tourism in Gozo. The entrance of Ramla Bay is surely not welcoming, since it is strewn with rocks rather than sand.

The pebbles in the shallow waters of this bay come from the stones that were in the valley. Rain causes them to move towards the sea where the constant pounding by the waves reduces them to pebbles. This explains why most of the pebbles are found in the middle of Ramla Bay (in front of the valley).

Some of these are then dispersed to the sides of the bay by the waves and currents. The increase in the stones and pebbles on the beach is due to the fact that a wall was built surrounding the Xħajma valley, thus enabling stones to roll towards the sea more easily.

The pebbles and stones have occupied the space of the sand, which is being lost due to the wind. This lost sand ends up further up from the flora and can never return.

Because of the ongoing loss of sand, Ramla is turning into a rocky beach as can be seen now. Thus, apart from being an eyesore, the rocks are also leading to the loss of sand.

A possible solution is to use a crusher at Ramla Bay itself to crush all the stones into sand.

Apart from the bay's natural beauty, the services offered there are important to attract visitors. Ramla has a lot of these, including restaurants, ice cream shops, hiring of sunbeds and umbrellas and a range of water sports.

Ramla is a major tourist attraction; let us not allow it to lose its character. After all, Gozo depends on local and foreign tourism.