Hondoq ir-Rummien plagued by deckchair providers as MTA and Lands pledge further beach crackdowns

The platform area at Hondoq irRummien — boasting of some of the cleanest and most tempting waters not just in Gozo, but arguably the whole country — is being taken over by sun beds, deckchairs and umbrellas on a daily basis, as this photograph sent in yesterday by an irate reader illustrates.

Swimmers making their way down to the popular bathing spot are greeted by the sight of what are, many a time, empty deckchairs taking up the whole platform, leaving little room for anyone who might wish to simply lay down a towel and take a dip.

The reader was prompted into action after learning how Kamp Emerġenza Ambjent (KEA) had bemoaned, earlier in the day, the fact that several beaches around Malta and Gozo were being swamped with deckchairs and umbrellas placed by various commercial entities in the early morning.

That was followed by a joint press release in which the Malta Tourism Authority and the Lands Authority highlighted the removal of five truckloads of deckchairs and umbrellas from Armier Bay and Little Armier Beach. Operators on those beaches were found to have been in breach of the terms and condi- tions of the applicable permits.

According to KEA, the current situation “effectively renders public beaches — important spaces that are to be enjoyed by all — private spaces for profitmaking. Consequently, people are forced to choose between staying in the few crammed spaces remaining or hiring an umbrella and deckchair.”

“People are often unable to place their own towels and umbrellas and there is not enough space for children to play. It is very unjust that a few private companies are making huge profits — at the expense of the rest of the population — from places that are supposed to be accessed and enjoyed by everyone.

The pressure group has de- manded that companies engaging in these “greedy practices immediately halt this takeover of public beaches, and that the relevant authorities ensure that the people’s right to enjoy these beaches is restored.”

Short of that, KEA threatened that its activists would organise “citizens’ direct actions aimed at reclaiming our beaches.”

In their statement yesterday, the Malta Tourism Authority and the Lands Authority made it clear that their “joint action is part of the ongoing drive aimed at ensuring that regulations are respected in full. This should send a clear signal that the authorities are taking this matter seriously and that further abuse will not be tolerated.”