ISSUE NO. 1672
20 - 26 July 2017
A XARQUÍA - C OSTA T ROPICAL
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Politicians demand answers BANNER: Flying high.
Mystery campaign returns THE controversial advertising campaign removed from a car park in Torre del Mar two weeks ago has returned in the form of banners flown behind three planes. The advert, declaring Comeme toerhigo and featuring a picture of a naked woman with the word ‘censored’ across her buttocks, was flown over beaches in Malaga, Alicante and Cadiz. Local newspapers reportedly received anonymous calls minutes before the stunt, giving them time to rush to the beach to see the banner. They added the company responsible is registered in the Central American tax haven of Belize, and that a young man was employed to arrange the initial advertising space in the Torre del Mar car park, paying €80, although he denies being involved. The campaign’s website had been displaying a clock counting down to the time of the aerial campaign, with the message “people of Alicante, Cadiz and Malaga, see you on the beach.” Local Police have said the person responsible could be guilty of at least five crimes.
Sewage scandal By Sally Underwood Representatives from the PSOE and Podemos opposition parties have demanded answers from Spain’s Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, over Nerja’s controversial sewage treatment plant. The outrage comes after the company in charge of completing the project, Isolux-Cosan-Corviam, declared banckruptcy, leaving the plant 96 per cent complete with work on the main pumping station yet to begin. As a result, the plant is unable to open while untreated sewage continues to pour into the sea, posing an ongoing risk to the marine environment. Provincial delegates Miguel Angel Heredia and Guillermo Diaz have contacted Madrid criticising the latest delays to the works, and the former said: “The Rajoy government promised that this treatment plant would be fully operational in June 2016, and not only was it not, but now we are back to square one after the company’s bankruptcy.” Diaz said he wanted answers “once and for all,” asking what the “plan B” is, claiming, “if the government does not have one
FURY: Miguel Angel Heredia (inset top) and Guillermo Diaz want answers. there will be serious consequences… the only thing visitors and residents of Nerja know for certain is that the works have stopped and the sea remains filthy.” In March a pipe burst 400 metres off Burriana Beach, expelling raw waste into the water and causing a ‘geyser’ of sewage to appear, with technicians discovering a second hole while repairing it. Nerja is the only large resort in Malaga Province to still pour un-
treated sewage into the sea via underwater pipes on Burriana and Torrecilla beaches. Waste is normally expelled 1,500 metres out to sea but the leaks have caused it
to be expelled much closer to the shore with Infrastructure councillor Jose Maria Rivas blaming “lack of maintenance over many decades.”
Families hit by huge water bill ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE families in Benajarafe’s La Esperanza urbanisation face their water supply being cut off after refusing to pay €38,000 in outstanding bills. The private estate, which is 60 years old, receives a monthly water bill of around €10,000, over four times higher than elsewhere in Velez-Malaga. Residents say the extortionate rates are due to the poor condition of their water network, with up to 75 per cent of water lost to leaks and illegal connections. They say water management firm Aqualia refuse to pay for the necessary repair work because the community is privately owned, leaving residents to foot the bill.