News
Sightseeing Nerja
Armijo appears at Nerja dump enquiry
The new train in Plaza Cavana , Nerja
Nerja has a new tourist train . City Sightseeing España last month took over operation of the popular facility which takes visitors on a 45-minute tour of the area , complete with an audio guide in three languages . The City Sightseeing company , which now runs over 100 tourist tours in over 30 countries , including 16 in Spain , now operates in Nerja between 11.00am and 4.00pm .
Public vote
Nerja has set aside € 500,000 to pay for projects suggested by residents . Proposals can be submitted until January 14 at mailboxes in municipal offices or via the website nerjadecide . es from where a proposal form can also be downloaded . Technicians will assess the viability of all ideas suggested and a public vote will then decide the favourites from a short list .
“ Idiots ” claim
Central government talks to Nerja ’ s councillors as if they were “ idiots ,” according to José María Rivas , responsible for the municipality ’ s infrastructure . He was referring to enquires made of the Ministry of Works regarding the completion of the town ’ s new water treatment plant , presently frozen at 76 % complete . The councillor said that he did not rule out staging a protest in Madrid after Christmas .
Flea attacks
Parents of students at the Augusto Santiago Bellido school in Vélez-Málaga say their children are under attack by an infestation of fleas . They say 30 pupils were bitten in a week with 12 requiring antibiotic treatment . The town hall , however , maintains the school has no problem but is treating the patio , while the parents say they will wash the curtains themselves over the Christmas break .
The investigation into a rubbish dump in Nerja which was used illegally for 18 years continued last month with the appearance of the town ’ s former Patrtido Popular mayor José Alberto Armijo . He told the investigating judge in a Torrox court that no individual , agency or administration ever warned him that the site at Rio de la Miel , where 800,000 cubic metres of rubbish was allowed to accumulate between June 1998 and September 2016 , was illegal .
Sr Armijo , who was Nerja ’ s mayor between 1995 and 2015 , could face charges of prevarication and offences against natural resources and the environment . He also said he had had authorisation to rehabilitate the site which , he explained , was a former quarry . He said building debris was to be used to fill the hole this had left .
Sr Armijo , now a provincial Deputy , added that during the time the site
Spain must take responsibility for the drought now threatening the country because of its poor management of water resources , according to a new study published by Greenpeace España . The extensive document warns that a third of Spanish territory could become desert and that three-quarters of all its land is “ susceptible ” to desertification .
The report , “ Drought : something more than lack of rain ,” says that the government ’ s policy based on an unlimited supply of water is a “ mistake with serious social and environmental consequences .” Thus , it continues , while Spain has the highest number of reservoirs per head of population in the world , supply problems continue as the rainfall declines .
The international NGO says that “ poor water management ” and policies which have failed to lessen the impact of dry remained open there had been multiple meetings with representatives of the Enviornment Department and it was never suggested it might pose a problem .
The complainant in the case has alleged that the site became an uncontrolled dumping group for , “ all kinds of waste from construction and demolition sites , hazardous materials , and large amounts of garden prunings and cuttings ,” which created serious environmental dangers , as well as a fire risk .
A total of 43 business owners , as well as former and present municipal staff , are under investigation while assets totalling € 5 million have been frozen . Those prosecuted may later face charges of environmental offences , forgery , fraud and well as membership of a criminal group and negligent or misrepresented environmental and administrative actions . The investigation is continuing .
Poor water management blamed for drought
periods are to blame almost as much as the lack of rainfall . “ Spain has lived and legislated as though it were a country with an endless supply of water ,” it concludes .
The Greenpeace study calls for an integrated approach to Spain ’ s water management , rather than considering farming , freshwater and salt-water ecosystems , forest fires , energy supply , health , public safety and climate change as separate issues .
Last month , Spain ’ s water reserves were estimated at 36.5 per cent of capacity , the lowest level for 22 years , by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries , Food and Environment . Rivers recording particularly low levels include the Río Segura which flows through Alicante and Murcia and which now only 13.5 per cent full , and the Júcar in Valencia and Castellón which is at 24.9 per cent .
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