Mature trees in Triq Diċembru 13 in Marsa are being cut as part of the project to improve the traffic flow.
Reader Jesmond Bonnici told the Times of Malta that as he was walking along the pavement in the area known as ‘Tas-Salib’ he noticed disturbed soil on his left and a considerable number of low piles of soil and rubble.
Upon closer inspection, he could see that the soil had recently been unearthed and as he removed sections of it with his bare hands realised that underneath the rubble were freshly cut tree stumps that had been carefully concealed to make them unnoticeable to passers-by.
The tree trunks seemed to have been removed as soon as they were cut.
The trees were planted in the 1970s when Triq Diċembru 13 was being built and some of them were more than three stories high.
Mr Saliba said that what was even more worrying was that tens of other trees along the same road were likely to suffer the same fate.
A press release by the Ministry for Infrastructure last week claimed that 56 eucalyptus trees would be cut in the following weeks. The ministry justified their destruction by describing them as an ‘invasive species.’
The flowers of eucalyptus trees are, however, rich in nectar and pollen and attract large numbers of bees and many local apiarists depended on them for the autumn honey. They also attracted many birds including turtle doves.
A number of mature prickly pear trees were also being destroyed.
Hundreds of people on Saturday gathered in front of Parliament to call on politicians to protect trees and the overall environment.
The protest followed the destruction of trees all over the island in recent weeks.
Some 480 trees have been uprooted so far this year and conservationists have called for an investigation into the removal of trees from various localities in recent weeks.
They include an old Holm oak tree just outside Valletta’s Upper Barrakka, an iconic carob tree in Villa Forte Garden, Lija, and some 14 mulberry trees in Victoria.