Environment
Sections
Highlight
Sections
Highlight
Fifty people from a protest group defending Vega Mestanza from the threat of a wastewater plant have gathered to stop the area's clearance. Locals were joined on the border of Malaga city and Alhaurín de la Torre by volunteers from a range of places, from Seville to Marbella, to try to stop plans for the Edar Málaga Norte from harming the citrus grove.
Headed up by Mari Carmen Mestanza, the face of the landowners affected by the sewage treatment plant, the group took action against the Junta's proposed project. They dismantled the crossing over the Guadalhorce since it was the intended entry path for machinery to clear the fruit orchards. The group also blocked the lanes with rocks and protest placards.
Manuel Martín, president of the platform in defence of the Vega Mestanza, pointed out that this mobilisation was launched spontaneously. He expressed his satisfaction that the protest has managed to halt the development of the works for the time being, although he fears, "in the end they will wear us down and they will succeed".
"We found out that they were going to enter by the river, with a ramp (we don't know if it's legal) probably to avoid going through a property that they still have to claim," he said. "The workers told us that they were going to uproot 400 trees, and when people found out, they came," he said, convinced that around 20,000 trees could be lost.
The residents' actions include signposting the orange and lemon trees with placards and filing complaints about the construction of the footbridge over the river, as detailed by Mari Carmen Mestanza. The lawyer representing this group, Marcelino Abraira, has asked the public prosecutor and the Guardia Civil to investigate whether the ramp is legal, as the entrance of the construction team was planned at another point, near the A-7052, as Martín pointed out.
At the same time, the representative of the protest group is working to stop any intervention related to the construction of the new treatment plant, until the various appeals filed - around half a dozen lawsuits - have been resolved.
"We don't know why the planned sewage treatment plant is in this flood zone, lined with trees, when there are cheaper alternatives that are less far from the houses," he complained.
The rally was controlled by a large deployment of the Guardia Civil, including riot police, who stayed far from where the Vega's defenders gathered, at the gates of the village of Mestanza.
The spokesperson for Vox in the Andalusian parliament, Manuel Gaviria, also attended, who considered work on the treatment plant to be "nonsense". He announced that his party will accompany these citizens in their actions against the water treatment plant and will go to congress to try to stop it, by means of a non-legislative proposal to put an end to the treatment plant project.
The Junta is unaware of the exact deadlines of the construction company for the pace of the works. Once they have been given the green light, it confirmed that the expropriation process is closed and the land will be available for planned construction phases.
The Andalusian regional government has made it clear that the development of the treatment plant project is strategic for the treatment of wastewater from Malaga, Alhaurín El Grande, Alhaurín de la Torre, Cártama and Torremolinos. Its main motivation is the biannual 634,000 euro fine for dumping untreated water into the river.
Publicidad
Publicidad
Publicidad
Publicidad
Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.
Reporta un error en esta noticia
Comentar es una ventaja exclusiva para registrados
¿Ya eres registrado?
Inicia sesiónNecesitas ser suscriptor para poder votar.