Ciudadanos asks for investigation to clarify why Ramblars is still on fire

Friday 26th November 2021 – CARLOS LÓPEZ with Mike Smith

The smoke from the Ramblars fire passed over the plenary session held this Thursday in Xàbia, as the spokesman for Ciudadanos, Enrique Escrivá, requested the creation of an investigation commission to clarify the causes for which there has been a new fire in Ramblars, which four days later it is still smoking, although at a lower intensity.

Escrivá stressed that all the residents wonder “why these fires occur” as well as the measures that “have been taken” since, as he recalled, five years ago another similar event occurred.

Along these lines, he opted for “clearing up doubts” and working to “avoid or minimize” the harmful effects that “fires like this” have on people’s health with the smoke they produce. “There have been residents complaints about that smoke.”

The councilor also asked if any file has been opened against the company that manages the site, a service that is rendered in precarious since the public tender has been deserted on several occasions.

“All this has to be dealt with from a global perspective” explained the councillor, who also pointed out that the representatives of the environmental associations of Xàbia and the Agrari Council should also be present.

Councillor Kika Mata (Services) took out the standard answer manual and diverted the request from the Ciudadanos spokesperson: “The Guardia Civil is investigating the causes and we cannot enter [the site]”.

Mata did not respond to whether files have been opened against the company, and said that “it is a legal question that is in court; the company says one thing and the other says another. Those things are there ”.

Later, she returned to the matter in response to questions from the PP councilor Juanlu Cardona who asked who operated the plant and proposed that a composting plant be built.

The Councilor for Services explained that it is the only for the dumping of green debris “and if you pile it up sometimes it comes out for compost” but acknowledged that “it has been very difficult to place it.” (The shredded green waste).

She also claimed that, together with other municipalities, they are studying whether to create a regional plant under the direction of the Waste Consortium or that Xàbia City Council creates one “if we have any European funding”. She also stressed that the plant “has many shortcomings, it is also crossed by the river” and claimed that that is why the Council has launched a tender process to acquire land in Catarroges, a procedure that has had to be re-started as the first session was unsuccessful after the landowners were found to have some debts with the public administration.