The continued closure of a major beach area in Puerto de la Cruz saw thousands of local residents turn out yesterday for a protest that turns the heat up on the authorities to find a definitive solution to the ongoing water pollution problems.
The normally sedate life in the resort town in north Tenerife, which receives year-round tourism, was interrupted by the march by an estimated 2000 yellow-shirted protestors blowing whistles and using loudhailers through the streets from the Martiánez district to Punta Brava. Fed-up residents read a manifesto calling for urgent action to be taken to deal with the issues that forced the closure of Playa Jardín, Puerto de la Cruz’s hugely popular black-sand beach, last July. The stay-away notices placed on the beach and the mounting anger at the closure attracted extensive coverage in the UK media back in the autumn.
The main problem centres on waste discharges further out to the sea off the coast at Punta Brava, which have led to growing levels of pollution that have made the waters unsafe for swimming due to the health risks. For years, locals have called for a definitive solution to the wastewater discharges without success and the prospect of an even longer closure, as spring gets under way and the summer season draws nearer, has seen resident and trader anger escalate considerably in recent weeks.
“It is an absolute joke. They have known for years about the pollution caused by the wastewater discharges and done nothing. The sea is our lifeblood, not a dumping ground” said one furious resident, adding that she did not trust assurances by the authorities that Playa Jardín would reopen before the summer.
Photo: Stop Vertidos Facebook
