Carnival enthusiasts have accumulated some €350,000 in unpaid electricity bills in past years and the government has now intervened to foot the cost, Times of Malta is informed.

Enthusiasts, however, claim the bills were always meant to be paid by the government.

While the government has announced the construction of a €6 million carnival village in Marsa to house workshops, sources close to the Malta Arts Council said the amount goes back decades. The sum has been left unpaid and the government is now trying to conclude the matter.

Since the 1970s, carnival enthusiasts have been using workshops in various areas around the capital to build their floats.

These workshops, usually derelict warehouses in Valletta’s Fort St Elmo, Floriana and Marsa, included the supply of water and electricity facilities usually owned by the Land Department.

Read more on Times of Malta.