Nearly 200 Dingli residents have signed a Moviment Graffitti petition against the building of a road on ODZ farmland.
The petition was announced after three Dingli residents on Wednesday filed a judicial protest against Moviment Graffitti, arguing that the activist group was acting “abusively, clandestinely and against the express wishes of residents” when its activists stopped the works. They said that activists had disturbed public order and prevented them from leaving their homes, with some losing appointments and arriving late for work.
At the heart of the issue is the building of a new road to link an alley at Daħla tas-Sienja to San Ġwann Bosco Street in Dingli.
Graffitti described the judicial protest as an underhand tactic by Infrastructure Malta and Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg.
The petition was signed by 192 residents of Sqaq il-Museum, Triq San Ġwann Bosco and Daħla tas-Sienja, has been sent to Borg and Infrastructure Malta chief Frederick Azzopardi.
Graffitti said more residents have asked to sign the petition.
“The state roads agency is attempting to justify its questionable and insatiable desire for this road to be built, no matter the cost, and is now using a handful of residents to vilify Moviment Graffitti for its actions in stopping heavy machinery from starting works,” the group said.
It denied that its activists, who have been on site to stop the road works, were protesting in an abusive and clandestine manner. Indeed, police who were also on site saw no need to intervene.
The group claimed that Infrastructure Malta personnel pushed heavy machinery onto protestors and people standing in the street. Officials also went to Triq Dun Bosco to tow away cars even though no “no parking” signs had been placed in the area. “This vindictive behaviour against innocent residents is unbecoming of any state authority in the civilised world,” the movement said.
Wednesday marked the third day that Graffitti and Infrastructure Malta had a stand-off at the site, as protestors camped there to prevent the works from continuing.
The proposed road also attracted environmental protests in October 2020, when workers turned up in Daħla tas-Sienja. Earlier this year, the Environment Resources Authority dismissed a request to protect carob trees that will face the chop as a result of the project.