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.
New Line boat which ran aground seashore 200 meters west of Hulhudhoo jetty yesterday afternoon around 3:15pm, was rescued around 4:00am today. The boat was heading towards Feydhoo for departure to Male’ when it ran seashore. Yesterday’s journey was its first after a lengthy break for renovation and improvements.
The reason for New Line running ashore is not know, however an eyewitness near the disaster suspected that it occurred due to a mechanical malfunction. “Steering system had failed and captain lost control over the vessel” said an eyewitness. Further he justified said that sea was very calm and that there was absolutely no wind.
Crew of New Line tried to recue the vessel as it ran aground seashore and many residents joined the rescue efforts latter. All of their communal efforts went in vein leaving the boat stranded. “How can you pull the vessel, it is fully loaded; unload few and wait for high tide” suggested a local.
The vessel was finally rescued around 4:00 on Sunday morning. Many people had helped in the rescue operation that lasted for four hours.
New Line is one of the two cargo boats operating between Hulhudhoo and Male’. It has returned to its operation after renovation. Another vessel, Speed Boat is also undergoing major renovation works.
Maldives Disaster Management Center (MDMC) has started to provide drinking water to Hulhumeedhoo people today. Safe drinking water shortage has started to create lots of problem in the two stranded islands in Addu since last month, as there has been no rain fall for the past five months. MDMC is seeking help from Herathera Island Resort to provide water to meet the immediate demand for them.
“We sought help from MDMC for water and they replied very quickly”, a Meedhooan said. MDMC then sought help from Herathera who has the capacity to desalinate water for almost 5000 people residing in Hulhumeedhoo. Public works unit of Hulhumeedhoo are using their trucks to carry water from Hearthera-Hulhudhoo channel to water tanks located in various public areas.
“Herathera with the help of Maldives Police Service will start filling up the water tanks in Hulhumeedhoo public areas today”, Island Chief Mr. Ahmed Shafeeu stated today, after the Friday Prayer. According to him this process will continue till people are able to fill up their water tanks. He also advised people not to waste water as the drought still continues. “I advice owners of fishing vessels to avoid taking water in huge volumes temporarily as they are provided as two liters per head” said Shafeeu.
“It’s a part of their (Herathera) corporate social responsibility to provide these sorts of help to the neighbouring communities” referred a Hulhudhooan. Further he said “We are happy that we have started to receive water thought later and on notification by MDMC”. As for now people are worried that drought may persist for a long time and that many water-borne diseases may start to surface up.
Hulhudhoo School has inaugurated its PTA members and members for newly formed school governance body ‘School Board’. Prefect board and heads of various clubs were also sworn in. The chair of the ceremony, Mr. Ali Khalid, distributed certificates to members of PTA and School Board whereas Assistant headmaster of Hithadhoo School Mr. Afeef distributed name tags for Prefects.
“This is a very happy moment for our school to introduce school board” Mr. Thaweel Abdul Muhsin said. “School board will function like parliament of the country, who would make policies on how the school should function, assist school administration with technical and management expertise and corporate with Education ministry to improve schooling system” Thaweel said.
“You must adhere to modern approach of learning and teachings” Mr. Ali Khalid, the most admired and potential headmaster of all times in Addu Atoll stated. “You don’t necessarily be working hard always, rather you must act wisely” he drew an example from the past and shared with the audience to think. According to him it would be very easy for Hulhudhoo School to grow faster and quote “You are very lucky, you have bunch of educated people in your island and I believe every one of them would be more than happy to help you”.
Senior member of Ministry of Education Southern Province Mr. Ahmed Abdulla guaranteed that he would work very hard to reconcile teacher shortage and a Headmaster. “I have listened to the concerns of School parents, these issues were already raised to us and I assure you that I would do justice with you on arrival of the State Minister Ms. Fathimath Naseer who is visiting Nepal” he said.
The members of the School Board are Mr. Ahmed Musthafa, Mr. Hussain Fahumy, Ms. Shamsiyya, Ms. Dhusooma, Ms. Mariyam Manike, Mr. Shareef, Mr. Azleem, Mr. Mujthaba and Ms. Fareedha Moosa.
Hulhudhoo youth, in a special gathering held at Hulhumale’ International School last Friday, endorsed Ilyas Labeeb as their candidate for the upcoming parliamentary election slated for May 9, 2009. The gathering was called for introducing the candidate to Hulhumeedhoo people living in Hulhumale’ and launching Ilyas Labeeb’s campaign T-Shirts.
Mr. Ali Manik (Kalhi Ali), a prominent figure in bringing change in last year’s presidential election in Hulhudhoo, honored the launching of T-Shirts. Another new campaign song by the famous vocalist Mr. Mohamed Azleen (Azky) and Lajuna was then introduced by Mr. Ahmed Zahid, the president of Hulhudhoo Sports Club.
Introducing the meeting at Hulhumale’ International School Mr. Ahmed Zahid highlighted the commitment from Hulhudhoo youth to Ilyas Labeeb’s constituency. He thanked Mohamed Azleen in particular for composing such beautiful songs to boost campaign.
On Sunday Mr. Ibrahim Zareer introduced the same T-Shirts to Hulhudhoo people at Dimish Kara campaign ‘Harage’. Many youth participated in the event that was arranged without any prior notice or announcement. “We would provide this special campaign T-Shirts to everyone who is engaged in the campaign, it would spread our message” said a member of campaign team.
Campaigns for various candidates are expected to take its culmination latter next month, however every candidate believes that this year’s parliamentary election wouldn’t be as easy as they had anticipated.
