Stones from old building thrown away

I was recently walking by the Vittoriosa bastions overlooking the picturesque bay of Kalkara and I noted that the building previously housing a private oil company was being demolished, as had been officially announced some months ago.

The effort exerted by this company and the government to identify another base for the former and, in particular, to restore the original beauty of the imposing and magnificent 17th century bastion is laudable. It is a great pity however that, as happens quite often in this country, we tend to produce half-baked solutions.

The demolition works on the 100-year old building was going on at a fast pace, as was the carting away, to who knows where, of the huge globicerina limestone. It is apparent that the government entity responsible for contracting out the demolition works has not thought of retaining the stone slabs which, despite their being exposed to sea spray and other natural elements for more than a century, showed no sign of deterioration or erosion.

It is hard to believe that the private contractor doing this job is simply dumping the stones in some disused quarry. It would indeed be a great pity if he were doing so. But, should it not have been the responsible government entity to ensure that such stones were preserved and eventually used to repair the same overlooking bastions which are in dire need of attention?

What a waste of resources! Shame on us.