The plans for the future of Quarry number 48 in Valletta Road, Lane 2, Mqabba do not give sufficient analysis on the impact of its planned activities on the people in the locality, ADPD the Green Party said Saturday.
Mqabba is clearly a victim of dysfunctional institutions, Architect Carmel Cacopardo, Deputy Chairperson of ADPD-The Green Party, said
The generation of dust and noise are the primary issues that the residents of Mqabba experience, and these are expected to increase. These have significant impacts on health, he said. This pollution will affect everyone, primarily the vulnerable. We would have expected that the government department responsible for environmental health would have been on the forefront of this.
In the light of all this, one question emerges: what are the institutions doing? Why are they not defending the residents, school children and staff? Protecting the health of the residents should take priority over quarry operations. Unfortunately, this is not happening. Cacopardo added that the impact that the quarry is having on the residents is not a new thing in Mqabba. However, this does not justify the current situation, implying that the residents are now accustomed to these things. To add insult to injury, this application will exacerbate this situation. It is already unacceptable that the current situation is not being addressed, let alone allowing it to become intolerable.
In such situations it is essential that institutions react to such threats. However, in such a critical moment, these institutions have remained silent and have abandoned the residents. In these circumstances, the last step is the decision to be taken by the Planning Authority. We hope that the Planning Authority will finally open their eyes and address the serious damage that is being proposed, concluded Cacopardo.