Health Department takes legal action on Galaxy infestation

Replying to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Edwin Vassallo, Health Minister Joe Casssar announced that residents’ complaints had been confirmed during inspections conducted by the health department.

He also revealed that a written notice ordering the owners of the site to remove the stagnant water had been sent on 14 October 2010. After this notice was ignored, the department initiated legal action against the owners.

Alternattiva Demokratika had also voiced the concerns of residents on the precarious state of the quarry – a five-storey hole adjacent to the Montebello brothers’ Belmonte Heights, which is now only partly constructed – denouncing the presence of Asian tiger mosquitoes in the stagnant water.

“Not only is the area an eyesore, and not only has part of the pavement been occupied by concrete slabs for years, but now the area is infested with mosquitoes due to stagnant water,” AD chairperson Michael Briguglio said.

The Sliema Local Council has been putting pressure on the developers and the authorities to take immediate action.