Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1321294
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 DECEMBER 2020 NEWS Call +356 2122 4405 E-mail info@laferla.com.mt Visit www.laferla.com.mt Laferla Insurance Agency Ltd. 204A, Vincenti Buildings, Old Bakery Street, Valletta VLT 1453 Malta, Europe Laferla Insurance Agency Ltd. is enrolled under the Insurance Distribution Act, Cap 487 to act as an Insurance Agent for MAPFRE Middlesea plc (MMS). MMS is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) under the Insurance Business Act, Cap 403 of the Laws of Malta. Both entities are regulated by the MFSA. MATTHEW AGIUS MOVIMENT Graffitti has called on Malta's farming community and dispos- sessed landowners to unite against what it termed a "land grab" by Infrastructure Malta. Farmers and residents of Qormi yester- day revealed plans by Infrastructure Mal- ta, which they said had been kept under wraps, to take swathes of land and fields in order to build a flyover. A family of Mrieħel farmers promised to fight a takeover of their once-ODZ (outside development zones) land to the bitter end, after being told by Infrastruc- ture Malta head Frederick Azzopardi that they had "enjoyed it long enough". Farmer Carmel Bonello described the planned expansion as "pointless" because it would simply create a bottleneck when a proposed third lane on the Mrieħel by- pass converged back into one lane further down the road. The flyover will be at the junction be- tween the Mrieħel Bypass and In-Negoz- ju Street, which Infrastructure Malta says is an accident black spot. Additional land is required for a new cycle lane and foot- path along the same bypass. Landowner Anna Louise Scerri Mon- talto described the area as "one of the last lungs of Qormi" and said the plans' impact would be terrible. The nearby 400-year-old Pinto Tower, which was built on clay, would probably be de- stroyed by the vibrations of the road- works and the increased car traffic. She also said that more congestion would re- sult from the project. Bonello's daughter, Marianna Calleja, told journalists that her family's land was "raped and horribly managed" in 1991 for the building of the nearby industrial complex and bypass, earmarked as the border with the land which was supposed to be ODZ. "My grandmother would tell me stories of how my grandfather was threatened with imprisonment in 1991 if he caused problems to the construction of the bypass." The land is arable and farmers have al- so claimed EU funds for their agricultural activities, assistance had increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The takeover is pointless," Bonello said. But when the family asked Frederick Azzopardi to spare their land, they said he replied by telling them that they had enjoyed it long enough ("gawdejtu biżżejj- ed"). Accusing IM of stealing the land from them, Bonello asked whether Azzo- pardi had "enjoyed enough from what he had already taken" for other projects such as Central Link. Wayne Flask, from Moviment Graffitti, expressed anger at the theft of arable land from farmers, residents "and us who con- sume the fruit of this land." He decried the arrogance of IM and accused Azzo- pardi of thinking that he "could do what- ever he wanted as long as he does so in a web of lies and deceit." The proposed road, whose plans are currently unavailable on the PA's map server, will cut through agricultural land larger than three football pitches in an ODZ area. "It will also spell the end of one of the last green lungs in Qormi, al- ready strangled by traffic agglomerations that have further served to congest the area and reduce the air quality," Graffitti spokesperson Andre Callus said. In addition, the flyover will mean the destruction of a huge water reservoir and the uprooting of a number of protected olive and pomegranate trees, some of which are hundreds of years old. "Infrastructure Malta simply decided, without notification, to take farmers' lands, as the project is veiled in a shroud of secrecy that has now become the roads' agency standard way of operating... residents are dismayed at the fact that the flyover will also destroy the new foot- bridge connecting Mrieħel to Qormi, in a further blow to pedestrian accessibility." Residents said they could not under- stand the logic behind the project. "There is nothing to be gained in terms of traffic flow since this flyover will create a new bottleneck closer to the roundabout lead- ing to Qormi, and we suspect that this project is being carried out to service the commercial developments in Mrieħel," they said in a statement. In a reaction, Infrastructure Malta said the project was a planned safety upgrade which was still in its initial design stage. "This junction safety upgrade in the Mrieħel Bypass is still in its initial plan- ning stages and there was no attempt to implement it by stealth. The tenants who addressed the press conference found out about this proposed upgrade after they were contacted by Infrastructure Malta to launch initial stakeholder consulta- tions required to finalise the project de- signs with the least possible adverse im- pacts in the area." An IM spokesperson said the landown- ers were invited to two meetings with Infrastructure Malta as part of this plan- ning process and were given a copy of the preliminary plans. Once the project plans are discussed with stakeholders, and the environmental and planning authorities, the final plans will be put forward for the Planning Au- thority's decision and made public. Qormi farmers and residents raise red alert over Mriehel flyover The proposed road, whose plans are currently unavailable on the PA's map server, will cut through agricultural land larger than three football pitches in an ODZ area