The Junta’s idea of putting a top on visitors to Río Chíllar and charging admission has not gone down very well, it seems, because it will be in the hands of a private company.

The idea is finding opposition to it despite demands during many years for more control on access to this natural area within the Parque Natural de Las Sierras Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama.

One entity totally against it is the ecologist movement, Gabinete de Estudios de la Naturaleza (GENA-Ecologistas en Acción), who have joined members of the public manifesting their rejection of the idea via a social-media platform for the collections of signatures (Change.org).

The petition was put up on the 5th of March by Aiden Rodríguez. So far, however, only 30 people have put their names to it.

Another manifestation of discontent is graffiti upon the walls of the Tercera Fábrica de La Luz, which is where the private companies, Hermanos Campano, Sando and Viajes Verano Azul have proposed that the entrance to the area will be. These old installations belong to Sevillana-Endesa as it used to be a hydro-electric plant.

Whilst some are against paying to enter, just about everybody considers that something must be done about the unmanageable number of visitors during the summer.

The person against having to pay to enter, Sr. Rodríguez, considers, “There is a lot more at stake than simply paying five or twelve euros to enter because we will lose the inclusive and shared essence of the river.” In other words, it belongs to everybody and is a public space and not a commodity to be sold by a private company.

(News/Noticias: Nerja, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia – Photo: E. Cabezas)