ANOTHER ROAD DEATH IN THE SERRANÍABy David Eade – Costa del Sol News
Just three week’s ago the fifth person in five years to die on a treacherous bend on the A-369 Ronda to Algeciras road was killed in an accident at Atajate when a 72 year-old Dutchman, fell from his bike and was struck by a car travelling in the opposite direction.
Now two weeks later a tragedy has struck on the MA-7401 – the road that links Benaójan with Ronda. The accident happened at 13.25 on Friday when a Ford Focus collided with a motorbike close to the famous Cuevas del Gato. The rider died instantly after being trapped between the car and a wall.
The victim was aged 34 years and was well known in Montejaque where he owned the pub and the official tobacconist. The mayors of both Benaójan and the neighbouring village of Montejaque attended the scene with their respective municipal workers being ordered in to clear up the remains of the wreckage.
The MA-7401 is a busy road used by residents of both municipalities to travel to and from Ronda. It is in a poor state having suffered badly in last winter’s rains, with works to repair subsidence and asphalting due to commence this month.
This further tragedy has again opened up the debate on the bad condition and unsafe nature of the Serranía road network. During the summer the mayor of Jimera de Líbar lamented on the dangerous state of the road between the village and Atajate with one accident a day and a serious collision occurring on a monthly basis.
The Guardia Civil from Marbella attended the accident scene at Benaójan and will now conduct an enquiry in to what happened. According to officers the woman driver of the car was uninjured by suffered a breakdown after the accident.
STRIKE SUPPORT
The unions in Ronda reported 37 per cent support for the general strike last Wednesday. The major construction projects in the town such as the new hospital and road network were at a standstill but for the shops in the main commercial street it was business as usual. Companies on the industrial estate were open as were the schools and health centres.
BIO SAVE
Ronda’s indoor swimming pool now has a state-of-the art system to heat the water and to control the climate. It has cost 270,000 euros to install but half of that has been paid for by the Andalucía energy agency. It’ll use biofuel to power the boiler equipment, a clean fuel, which will also result in a 40 per cent cost saving over diesel.
PAY UP
The opposition Partido Popular in Ronda is pressing the town hall to speed up the payments to companies that supply goods and services. In 2008 the average settlement of a bill was 78 days, last year it was 135 days and that has probably lengthened in 2010. At the end of 2009 the town hall owed 11 million euros largely to small businesses.
BIRD DAY
A series of events were held in Ronda to mark the World Day of the Birds. Schools had special classes dedicated to the birds of the area. There was a seminar on the importance of ornithology as a tourist attraction at the Mondragon Palace, a talk on the vultures residing in the Serranía plus a guided excursion to the Sierra de las Nieves.
WATER DOGS
Every dog has its day and the ‘perros de agua’ recently had theirs in Cuevas del Becerro. The water dog is an authentic Spanish breed, they are working dogs and their association held a show attended by 100 dogs from all over Andalucía as well as Badajoz. In the municipal pool the dogs displayed their skills, carried out rescues and searched for drugs.
TO RUSSIA
Three Ronda bodegas will be taking their wines to the VI Salón de Vinos de España held in at two major hotels in Moscow and St Petersburg on October 26 and 28. The event has been organised by the Spanish commercial office with wines from Descalzos Viejos, Federico Schatz and Doña Felisa amongst over 35 Spanish wines selected for their superior quality.
RISE ROW
PP and IU councillors in Ronda have discovered Francisco Márquez, who’s the local PSOE secretary for politics, has been given a pay rise. He has taken over municipal responsibility for management and grants. The IU angrily points to a time when pensions are frozen, employees’ wages are slashed by 5 per cent, Márquez gets a raise from 1,400 to 1,900 euros a month.
