Panic spread among the hundreds of people along Bahaaudheen Magu Saturday, as the tranquil morning was shattered by a loud boom, followed by a magnitude-8.7 earthquake near Nicobar Island at 9:40am.
The panic grew as the tsunami siren wailed from HulhuMeedhoo, warning that the quake could potentially cause a tsunami. People wasted no time in leaving their children in the school and ran in a chaotic crowd to the nearest evacuation facilities setup in Hulhudhoo Football Ground.
There was, of course, no tsunami that day: The excitement was part of a tsunami drill program jointly conducted by Maldives Meteorological Service (MMS) and Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (adpc).
Hundreds of people namely students, parents, police and MNDF personnel were involved in the drill, many of whom could not stop from crying in real panic. "I'm still traumatized by the 2004 tsunami," one resident, Aisha, said as she fled. "I just don't want it to happen again."
The minister of state for National Disaster Management Center (NDMC) Mr. Abdulla Shaid said the drill was important for all those living in tsunami-prone regions. "Through the drill we learn what we should do when disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis hit," he said.
Mr.S H M Fakhruddin, a technical specialist of adpc, said many lessons could be learned from the drill, including identifying weaknesses in the disaster handling system."The drill has shown us many things we have to fix in the future, but they are all still within the tolerable limits," Fakhuruddin said. He praised the MMS administration's initiative in conducting the drill, which, he said, was a "breakthrough".
This is the first drill of its sort in the Maldives and MMS in association with adpc will conduct further disaster-handling simulations in various islands across the country. According to MMS they are planning to conduct similar simulation drill in Fuvahmulah next year.
Fakhuruddin said the evaluation of the tsunami drill conducted in HulhuMeedhoo on Saturday would be used as a reference for tsunami handling for other islands and countries whose territory lies on the Indian Ocean. He added the event would also be held in memory of the 2004 tsunami.
Meedhoo people, unlike rest of Addu, have been engaged in farming, either at home or on the piece of land obtained from the government, for the past two decades. I remember when I was a child people, especially Hulhudhoo, heading towards Meedhoo every day evening during Ramazan to buy fruits and vegetables. At that time there might be few farmers with limited produce and yet they had huge demand. However with the help of Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture and increased number of investors in agriculture, today Meedhoo has the capacity to produce and supply vegetables to nearby resorts continuously; yet channeling their produce to the end-user is widely unknown.
Mr. Ibrahim Rasheed, 30, has joined Meedhoo farming population in late 2007 and today, he is one of the leading farmers and suppliers of agricultural products in Addu. “During last year we were able to supply 100kg of Brinjal alone to Herathera Island Resort on a daily basis and monthly yield from agriculture mounted to Mrf50,000” Ibrahim Rasheed stated. He explained “I was satisfied with the income generated from farming although my farm was run below capacity”. He further stressed “poor” market as the reason for running his farm below capacity then and quoted as justifying “if circumstances changes I would quadruple my productivity”.
Explaining the many problems Rasheed faces in the industry he said selling his produce below market rate, multiplying arrears and securing crop are inevitable. He said “as there are many local suppliers in Addu and elsewhere in Fuvahmulah, our produce had to be sold below market rate”. Agriculture needs continuous investment, season after season. “If we don’t get money for what we sell duly or in a month, then we wont be able to invest for the next season” he said. According to him there are unpaid bills pending for his supplies to Herathera Island Resort and other retailers in Addu. Securing crop is one of the biggest problems faced by farmers. Rasheed highlighted lack of constitutional punishment for continued vandalism on their farm fields.
As the ministry of fisheries and agriculture is encouraging farmers and farming in the country by means of training, subsidies and loan schemes, many people have started to enter into the industry. Local farmers have approached banks to obtain loans to reinvest in their farm. Since Ramazan is ahead, farmers want to cultivate as many varieties of fruits and vegetables as they can. Ramazan is considered a good season for agricultural products every where in the country and yield from its harvest hits highest point.
Investing in agriculture is essential. However as the economic downturn and global pandemic of ‘swinflu’ is affecting the economies globally, it is advisable for farmers to secure their market before clinging on spending huge amount of money on farming. Government authorities and ministry of fisheries and agriculture must pay greater attention on establishing means and ways for farmers to settle their problems peacefully. Unless these problems in the industry are correctly addressed, investing in agriculture is not feasible.
The biggest news all over the world on 25 June was the death of one of the most famous musical artists in recent history, Michael Jackson. As the hour long television specials, radio playlist tributes, and music video marathons already began on the same day, many Muslims are left wondering, “was Michael Jackson a Muslim?”
The short answer? It’s hard to say.
The long answer? Initially it began with rumors years back that he had joined the Nation of Islam. On top of that, Jermaine Jackson, his brother, is a known and confirmed Sunni Muslim, which added another ingredient into the mix. Read
June 26 marks the UN's International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, a date which has been marked in the Maldives recently following the dramatic increase in the number of cases of drug abuse and its related crimes. The President’s radio address to the nation yesterday highlighted the government’s efforts to curb growth of drug abuse and trafficking and stressed on the issue of strengthening health services.
A rally calling for a permanent solution to the widespread drug abuse and trafficking problem in Maldives was held in Hulhumeedhoo on Friday afternoon. The rally was organized by the Seenu Atoll School (SAM) in association with Maldives Police Services and held to coincide with the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.A stage show was also performed by Hulhudhoo youth to educate the youth and parents about the devastating effect of drugs and reasoned why to refrain from smoking.
Hulhumeedhoo councilors, Island Chiefs, other government officials, Police, students and teachers took part in the event. The march began at the Atoll School and proceeded through Bahaaudheen Magu to the both ends of Hulhumeedhoo, where students and others spoke out against drug abuse and its trafficking. Speakers highlighted that there is a direct link between drug abuse and growing social unrest in the society.
The trend of drug abuse and its trafficking in Hulhumeedhoo has multiplied in the last two years. The staggering number of fresh entries into this evil bewitchment in the island is frustrating. Government authorizes, police and other related agencies remain helpless in tackling and preventing its growth.
The drugs are gaining popularity among newly affluent young Maldivians who view the use of such substances as a status symbol and smart.
Hulhudhoo Office has awarded certificates to Heavy Load Maldives and to their Manager Mr. Abdulla in a special gathering held at Southern Point Restaurant last night. The certificate was awarded in appreciation of their help to protect 2.8 million rufiyaa worth sea wall that was build south east side of Hulhudhoo last year. Heavy Load Maldives is owned by the famous actor, reformist and MP for Hulhu-Henveyru, Mr. Moosa Manik.
According to Hulhudhoo Councilor Mr. Ibrahim Didi 27,432m3 of earth was plunked to fill the gap between the 1200 feet long sea wall and the main land. Mr. Didi thanked Mr. Reeko Moosa Manik on behalf of the people, Hulhudhoo Office and Island Committee for successfully accomplishing such a big project. “The cost of this project would certainly mount to Mrf 500,000.00 and it would be almost impossible for us to proceed with such a project at this time of global economic downturn”. Filling the gap would provide reinforcement for the seawall to survive in the long run.
While speaking at the reception last night the Island Chief Mr. Mohamed Jameel announced that Heavy Load Maldives would also help us cleaning Hulhudhoo Waste Management area. “We are very thankful to Mr. Abdulla who has formally agreed to help dump the waste and clean up the whole area before their departure from Addu”, Jameel added.
Heavy load Maldives has just completed their prime task of making channel between Hulhudhoo and Herathera.Nevertheless as part of their corporate social responsibility, Heavy Load is undertaking small projects of Hulhudhoo on request by Hulhudhoo Office.
Police have arrested a 25 year old youth in connection with an attempt of burglary on Finifenmaa Store around 23:40 hrs last night. The burglar was caught red handed while trying to break down the door of the shop. According to the owner of the shop the burglar was Abdulla Wasiq of Kudhimaage, S.Hulhudhoo.
Finifenmaa Store has become the center of attention of all the drug addicts out on the streets of Hulhudhoo for ages. In the last six months the shop was robbed twice. The owner of the shop Mr. Solih explained as saying “a burglar, a drug addict, attempted to enter into the Finifenmaa Store by breaking the door lock”. He added that the thief used a screw driver and a hammer to break the lock before police arrived and took him under their custody.
Mr. Solih stated that the same guy broke in to his home recently and got away with a Pocket PC and a Sony Cybershot camera. He complained that police has released him without sending the case to prosecutor general’s office. According to police they had not gained adequate evidences against the suspect for prosecution.
The death of the 14-year-old Seenu Atoll School Grade 8 boy, Yoonus Hussain, has left entire Hulhumeedhoo gripped in grief. He died of drowning into the channel, which is being excavated between Meedhoo and Hera, on Sunday evening around 15:45 hrs. Hulhudhoo Meedhoo Hospital confirmed his demise shortly after he was brought there.
Yoonus Hussain, along with five of his class mates, went for swimming to the channel between Meedhoo and Hera after coming from school. According to one of his companion, they were playing fun games in the channel before Yoonus Hussain and he drowned into a deep dugout. “Yoonus Hussain was already dead when he was taken out from water“an eyewitness said. According to reliable sources within Meedhoo, Yoonus Hussain did not know swimming or his friends who accompanied with him.
Today it has become an obligatory measure for schools, NGOs and other responsible authorities to make people aware about safety at sea. Learning to swim must be made compulsory within school levels and special training programs need to be conducted. Similar cases of deaths occur very often throughout the nations but people pay little or no attention whatsoever.
An unprecedented trench hollowed out between Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo has raised tension between both the islands last night. According to the information received to Hulhudhoo Today, an excavator lend by Shangri’ la to excavate the channel between Meedhoo and Hera, was used to dig out the road which runs east of Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo. However the purpose and the people behind this wicked attempt of trying to leave Hulhumeedhoo people under jeopardy still remain unknown.
According to Hulhudhoo councilor Mr. Ibrahim Didi, he had asked Meedhoo island Chief Mr. Abdulla Rasheed for an explanation of excavating trench. Abdulla Rasheed justified as saying “it was the will of the majority of Meedhoo people out on streets to clean the island yesterday”. We enquired Meedhoo councilor Mr. Hassan Shahid if he had learned about such plan to scoop out a trench on the road before. He replied that he had attended all the meetings in FMD regarding the planning of island cleaning program but never come across anyone saying about excavating a trench to block the road.
At the wake of this evil act to block the road by a small segment of Meedhoo people, triggered protests near Hulhudhoo office last night.Hundreds of people gathered near Hulhudhoo Office and pressurized the newly appointed councilor to immediately take actions. Hulhudhoo councilor Mr. Ibrahim Didi, after talking to Atoll councilor, arranged Heavy Load vehicles to fill the trench before 00:00 hours. However differences in opinion among the people out on protest failed to find reconciliation to the dispute and they marched towards the main border to excavate a channel. With spade and other tools Hulhudhoo people did scoop out 5 x 1 feet area of land near old Health Center building before police came and advised them to stop.
The relationship between Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo people, particularly among the youth, has been strengthening for the last five years. Street fights and vandalism on either island properties almost vanished. Everybody was free to move from one island to another, thus promoting social and economic benefits. We strongly advise on youth of these two islands to refrain from activities which may hinder peace we have setup between these two islands.
Hulhumeedhoo powerhouse has started works to provide electricity to Hulhudhoo farm fields today. This is in conjunction with the minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr. Ibrahim Didi’s promise during the opening ceremony of newly developed road that leads to farm fields in February 2009. Dr. Didi promised to Hulhumeedhoo people that he would enhance means and ways to develop agriculture in Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo and that he would prioritize providing electricity.
Hulhudhoo Today has learnt that the current power network expansion project carried out by Hulhumeedhoo powerhouse is to enable farmers to easily access to electricity needs at a reasonable cost. Under this project three distribution boxes near farm fields of each island would be setup and it depends of farmers to get connections from these boxes.
Some farmers are still dissatisfied. According to them, they would have to spent further Mrf10,000 to get power connection to their relevant farm fields. However ministry has recently announced that they would soon start providing soft loans, with 3% interest rates, to farmers. This is likely to ease the tension of the farmers experiencing short term financial difficulties in expanding their business.
During February ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture has conducted a ten day workshop in Hulhumeedhoo to improve the knowledge of farmers. The workshop was a success as it had helped many farmers enrich their understanding towards various diseases to crops.
Power network expansion project to Meedhoo farms will kick off upon completion of the development of preceding roads. Unlike Hulhudhoo, Meedhoo is rich in farming and the scope for expansion of agriculture is higher.
Fuel Supplies Maldives have signed contract with southern province office yesterday to set up a fuel storage facility in Hulhumeedhoo. The contract was signed by the Deputy Managing Director of FSM Ibrahim Ziyath and Addu Atoll Councilor, Mr. Abdull Sadiq.
Storage facility would be set up adjacent to Public Works unit of Hulhumeedhoo and it is the most desirable place for setting up the facility. FSM requires 4900f2 of land for this facility. High profile citizens from Hulhumeedhoo along with their respective Island Chiefs accompanied the delegation of FSM to observe the site.
According to FSM the main aim of the storage facility is to make fuel available to Hulhumeedhoo community as they are distributed elsewhere in Addu. FSM have set up similar storage tanks in Hithadhoo and local distributors buy in abundance to resell to the public. FSM also indicated that the storage facility is temporary and will be replaced with a new facility close to the proposed jetty which would be common to Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo.
Setting up a fuel storage facility in Hulhumeedhoo would ease the shortage of fuel supplies in Hulhumeedhoo whereas community would enjoy reduced expenditure on fuel.
Tourism and hotel management is synonymous with Addu people since its birth in 1972. Tens of thousands of Addu people work at different hierarchical levels of tourism industry in the country. As the geography of the atoll and political stand of former administration hindered growth of tourism in Addu, children’s of Addu, at their very young age, sailed toward jobs in the hotel and tourism industry across the nation. However tourism has started to take effect in a larger scale in 2006 when Maldives Tourism Development Corporation made $44million investment to develop Herathera Island Resort, which latter failed to harbor the need of Addu community at large. Today one would wonder why on earth the people so dedicated to tourism is incapable of helping $100million worth investment by Shangri-La at Viligili?
Shangri-La Maldives Resort & Spa at Viligili, which is due to open in July 10, 2009, is seeking 30,000 m3 of white sand to develop its beach. According to Shangri-La, they would be able to open the hotel for business in July only if they get the required amount of white sand before monsoon. Dr. Simad Saeed, while meeting with the members of Hulhudhoo Island Development Committee and vessel owners last night, stated that Shangri-La might have to postpone the opening of the hotel until January next year if the problem of making beach is not resolved.
The quality and the quantity of white sand required by Shangri-La are available within Addu’s vast shallow lagoon west of Meedhoo “the Kedevaa Hera”. Kedevaa Hera is the area decreed by the members of Atoll Development Committee for extracting sand for civilian purposes and during the development phase of Herathera huge amount of sands were sold to Herathera by a group of Meedhoo people. Hulhudhoo Today has learnt on various occasions that two different parties had failed their attempt to extract sand from Kedevaa Hera and sell them to Shangri-La for unidentifiable reasons. Certainly the crux of the problem here is the huge amount of money involved in supply of white sand to Viligili and every party wants to grab most share of it. Ultimately none of the parties are able to undertake the project alone due to the pressure from other parties and islands.
Indeed, opening of Shangri-La Maldives Resort & Spa at Viligili is a long lasting dream of Addu people. Members of Hulhudhoo Island Development Committee and vessel owners collectively agreed that they are ready to accept extracting sand from Hulhudhoo lagoon. “Extracting sand might cause environmental degradations in the long run, but if Shangri-La guarantees environmental safety they could dug out sand from Hulhudhoo” stated committee. Committee further stated that Shangri-La could also dig the channel leading to deep sea as it has become shallow. “The channel needs to be dug 1.5 meters out to allow easy passage of the huge fishing vessels and cargo boats and I think Shangri-La would get huge amount of sand from there itself, apart from the proposed area for harbor”, suggested a member.
Dr. Simad Saeed, acknowledging the voice of committee and vessel owners being unified decision of Hulhudhoo community, stated that he would deliver this positive and uniform feedback to Shangri-La and that he would arrange a meeting with Shangri-La to further discuss the matter. He also assured to bring it to the attention of Shangri-La that none of the Hulhudhoo personals are taken for jobs at Viligili.
Two huge burgesses with heavy load pumps and excavators are stopped from extracting sands from Meedhoo lagoon by a group of Meedhoo people yesterday. Extractions of sand are believed to be used for making the beach of Shangri-La Maldives at Villingili.
Shangri-La needs huge metric tons of sand for making its beach. Shangri-La has not contracted out the project to any of the local extractors to supply sand, but there are reports that few of the locals are selling sand to the resort. During early March a group of people had called on the province office to bring a halt on illegal extracting and selling of sand from Hithadhoo lagoon.
However Hulhudhoo office had offered to make a deal with Shangri-La recently. According to that, Shangri-La pumps out as much sand as they want from a specified area which Hulhudhoo people could develop as their port. Further it said that they should sheet-pile the harbor and dug a channel.
Last week a fleet of two huge burgesses with pumps and excavators sailed across the face of Hulhudhoo towards “Kedevaahera” where predominantly Meedhoo people extract sands for civilian and small scale business purposes. News then spread across Addu that they are undertaking sand examinations, however a group of Meedhoo people sailed to them and denied their undertakings.
White sand has become scarce in the region and extracting and transporting them from other atolls in the country would cost millions of dollars. Gdh. Fares-Maathoda is ready to supply as much sand as required by Shangri-La, however the cost of transporting and other logistics makes the project volatile. Unless the issue of getting required amount of sand is solved the dream of opening the seven star resort at Villigili will remain a shattered dream.
At 8:30pm on Saturday 28 March millions of people around the world will unite and switch off their lights for one hour, Earth Hour. This event is a global public awareness campaign about the effects of climate change.
In 2009, Earth Hour will take place in more than 80 countries around the world, proving that climate change really is a global threat and that it will take all of us to work together to solve it. We are hoping that Earth Hour reaches one billion people.
Maldives is to mark Earth Hour, an annual event organized by World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) to increase the awareness on the effects of global climate change. The main event will be to switching off non essential lights from 2030 hours to 2130 hours.
A deadly lightening struck the IT Department of Herathera island resort and a fishing vessel in the dock yesterday morning. Network and main server of the hotel was severely damaged and the fishing vessel was taken to Maradhoo Slipway for repairing.
“Network is totally uprooted, PABX system and main server is down since yesterday” reported a Herathera staff. Further he said “phone lines, mobile services and internet access is also down”. According to him they are unable to pursue their normal routine works since the incident occurred yesterday morning.
Hulhudhoo Today has learnt that the vessel was a fishing vessel from Huvadhoo Atoll who had come to sell fish to Herathera.
Lightening has become a threat to Herathera these days. A day before communication and network systems were destroyed by lightening, power house became the victim of it around 3:00am on Monday morning.
According Ibrahim Rasheed, GM of resort, it was unclear what had caused the blackout but believed that lightning strikes over night might have caused some damage to the power generator. He added that they are not able to find any damage or problems with the generator. Read
On the other hand there are rumors that the cause of the blackout on Monday morning was due to running out of fuel in the resort.
The scale of the damage caused by lightening and time for recovery is still uncertain however staffs and management of the hotel is working hard to ease the tensions that might surface up.
The quest for selecting most eligible and most potential candidate as ‘peoples’ envoy’ to the parliament is deviating the actual purpose of their candidacy today. In this year 465 candidates are contesting for 77 constituencies of the parliament and each candidate propagates his or her own way to serve people. Cash rewards, valuable assets, air tickets, job security, family intrusion and illusive obsessions are some of the depraved elements of campaign strategies adopted by most of the candidates in Maldives.
Any candidate elected to the parliament upon aforementioned elements is highly unlikely to represent the public. Indeed, for them their private benefit would outweigh those of public as they would have given bribes in some way or the other to grab most votes.
Today it’s a common phenomenon on the ground and various levels of campaign activities that candidates boast about things they, as natives, have done for the islands in the past. Some candidates claim that they have helped to develop infrastructure of the islands, promoted educational fields, enhanced job opportunities and granted money for the needy. Indeed it’s an obligatory duty of the riches and no candidate should claim parliamentary seat as a reward for that.
Honesty is the basic guide line to become a good MP. A good MP never promises the unattainable nor swank about what he or she has done well for the people in the past. Ability to give tough and rational feedbacks and capacity to reason on issues discussed at parliament floor, free from obsession, is instrumental for a good MP. Academic excellence and professional exposure is necessary to lead arguments at parliament. If he or she is hesitant or incapable of providing adequate justification on his or her believes and thoughts then he is incompetent. In the Maldives, Reeko Moosa Manik and Ibrahim Ismail are the two outstanding members of the parliament who had great hand in shaping and modernizing the constitution of the country.
We hope that our people choose a candidate who is second to none than those mentioned above. This is the first time in the history that a constituency for Hulhumeedhoo is placed and electing the right and competent candidate for the job is essential for the wellbeing of islands and the country at large.
Countdown for this year’s parliamentary election slated for May 9, 2009 has begun with the release of eligible candidates names by Maldives Election Commission on Saturday. As per the list published at election commission website, 465 people are contesting for various constituencies through out the country, where as twelve of them are contesting for Hulhumeedhoo.
75% of candidates are contesting on their own for Hulhumeedhoo constituency while three dared to compete with their respective party tickets. Ms. Fathimath Badhoora, only female candidate for Hulhumeedhoo, is the contender of Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party (DRP) while Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim Didi is challenging from Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and Ilyas Labeeb from the ruling party, MDP. Individual contenders are Mr. Ibarahim Zahid, Mr. Mohamed Shibath, Mr. Ibrahim Hameed, Mr. Moosa Fathuhy, Dr. Abdulla Afeef, Mr. Sadurudheen Rasheed, Mr. Ali Rasheed, Mr. Abdul Haadhee Fahumee and Mr. Mohamed Rasheed.
Hulhumeedhoo is the only constituency where most number of candidates is contesting and it is believed that the islands would blow with the waves of campaign activities by twelve candidates. Pressure on Hulhumeedhoo public have been unpredictable had two of the contestants did not drop their names from running the contest. However a segment of the community believes that more candidates mean more choices for people.
A one day sports meet conducted by Nasriyya Pre-School (NPS) at Hulhudhoo football ground ended yesterday. The meet was held between the houses of the school. A number of students participated in which event was honoured by Mr. Ahmed Musthafa.
A number of games were played in the event. Noticeably relay race, sprints, rabbit race, drills etc are among the many performed.
Sports meet is one of the major extra curricula activities conducted by the school every year. It is only event that accounts almost all the students in the school and every student dreams to take part in this event.
NPS is facing shortages of new entry to school. According to reliable sources within the school, there are approximately 60 students in the school, which depends on the fees collected from the students. However the ministry pays for the teachers and supervisor.
It was on last January that a number of Hulhumeedhoo staffs were terminated from Herathera Island Resort for soaring global economic crisis. Perhaps that could be the best option for an infant hotel like Herathera to withstand the preceding economic shocks. However, taking more of Hulhumeedhoo staffs up for various jobs at Herathera a month later is dubious.
Twisting, shuffling and swapping of employees for political and financial benefits are a practice exercised by some of the hotels in Maldives for decades. There is no labour law that protects labour rights in the country. Hoteliers and business men are well aware of these loop holes in the constitution of the nation and they utilize it as and when they want it.
Working at Herathera is more than a dream for Hulhumeedhoo people and those who secured jobs from Herathera recently must be grateful for the management of the hotel. As unemployment is one of the key factors affecting rise in crimes and social unrest within the society, fall in unemployment would surely contribute to harmony and spread of peace. However, infringing the rights of those staffs sacked on January 2009 might overshadow the reputation of Herathera management as we are still experiencing the adverse affects of global economic crisis.
Employing more staffs to Herathera, at a time when most of the companies are adhering to ‘redundancy’ as a policy to economize, is disputable. Some people believe that the current strategy of taking more of Hulhumeedhoo staffs up in Herathera is politically motivated. Mr. Ibrahim Zahid, who is a close ally of Yacht Tours Managing Director Mr. Jabir Abdulla, is reportedly contesting for Hulhumeedhoo constituency. Perhaps this could be the sole reason behind hiring more and more people from Hulhumeedhoo towards constitutional election.
Indeed this is a very important and inevitable move by the management of Herathera though. And it would have been much better if the eight employees, sacked due to the preceding economic crisis last January, were brought back to their positions accordingly.
Ilyas Labeeb promised creations of hundreds of jobs under his long term plans to develop ‘Hera’ as a tourist resort. “Opening of a tourist resort at Hera is a long lasting dream of our beloved Meedhoo people and it’s my mission” said Ilyas while meeting with his supporters in Meedhoo on last Friday. He also highlighted the business opportunities that would be opened for Hulhumeedhoo people when the said project gets realized.
As part of Ilyas Labeeb’s campaign promotion he met with his supporters in Meedhoo on last Friday near Shamsudheen School. Hundreds of people visited to listen to his speech in which he urged people to attend to all the gathering conducted by all candidates. “You must listen to all candidates, analyze each ones proposal for the development of Hulhumeedhoo and country, and vote based on your judgments” advised Ilyas. He strongly emphasized on ‘voter education’ as the basis of his campaign strategy. According to him, voters must know why he or she votes a particular candidate.
He addressed on various socio economic concerns faced by our community today. “There are too many loop holes in the system and I promise to help you curb them” vowed Ilyas. He drew attention on deteriorating situation of drug abuse and its illegal smuggling into our community. He promised he would help rehabilitate the addicts and put an end to illegal smuggling.
Ilyas shared his notion to specialize Health Center in one particular field or two. “We have all the required facilities to provide quality dental services within Health Center and preparations from the side of Health Center remain incomplete”, delighted Ilyas said. He also indicated that efforts to bring a gynecologist and a pediatric are underway as Hulhumeedhoo people faces lot of difficulties travelling Hithadhoo to see these special doctors.
As emphasized by Ilyas, everyone must listen to the promises made by all the candidates and evaluate the credibility of them before clinging on to vote a particular candidate.
