BARI – Tensions continue to rise between protestors and riot police near the village of Melendugno, as plans to uproot a centuries old olive grove in favour of a controversial gas pipeline causes backlash amongst locals.

 The 870-kilometre Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Italy via Turkey, Greece and Albania. It will cost an estimated €40 billion by the time it is completed in 2020.

 However, campaigners are calling for it to be redirected in order to avoid an area that relies heavily on tourism and olive oil.

 On Tuesday, several people were injured as police armed with batons and shields tried to move hundreds of protestors away from the construction site. In response, the demonstrators threw stones and bottles at the police.

 Plans to dig up the olive grove have subsequently been suspended, however, the project will reportedly be resumed soon.

 The regional government of Puglia is opposed to the pipeline project. The centre-left governor, Michele Emiliano, has even branded it “illegal” and said: “The government has proved incapable of listening to Puglia.”

 However, the Environment Minister, Gian Luca Galletti, has fully endorsed the project, along with other Roman officials, who are saying that the pipeline is of huge strategic importance to Italy and will help them become less dependent on coal, thus reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

 On Monday, an Italian court granted permission for construction work to begin. So far 448 young olive trees have been uprooted and transplanted out of a total of 2,000.

 The pipeline consortium explained that the olive trees would be transplanted to a nursery, where they’d be cared for until the construction work had been completed, hopefully by 2019. The olive trees would then be brought back and replanted.