Protest at Thulhaadhoo Council building over delays in handing over completed rowhouses

Thulhaadhoo Council has halted its operations on Thursday in light of protests at the Council building over delays in handing over row houses developed in B. Thulhaadhoo, which are completed.

A protestor told Sun that the protest was launched over the Council’s failure to publish the final list of recipients of the 100 rowhouses developed in Thulhaadhoo on Thursday, as promised.

The protest, which began last night, escalated this morning when demonstrators forced their way into the Council building and continued their protest on the premises.

According to the protestor who spoke with Sun, the Council had held a meeting on the issue but did not reveal the list in question. The protester said the Council cited a court ruling as the reason for withholding the list.

“At present, our demand is to hand over the flats [rowhouses] to the recipients. We are not leaving this place [the Council building] under any other circumstances. It is up to the Council to publish the permanent list,” the protestor said.

Thulhaadhoo Council’s deputy president Mohamed Ali Manik said the relevant committee failed to come to a conclusion regarding publishing the final list of rowhouse recipients during a meeting held last night.

However, Manik noted that the committee is planning to hold another meeting as soon as possible in order to reach a decision at the earliest, as the issue involves the interests of residents.

In this regard, Manik detailed that while the committee has scheduled a meeting for 22:30pm tomorrow night, the residents want the meeting to be held earlier than this. Hence, Manik said the Council was in discussion with the Local Government Authority (LGA) and other relevant government authorities regarding the matter.

Manik noted that the Council’s operations have come to a complete halt due to the protestors shouting and the lack of available space. He noted that the Council staff have been escorted outside as the shouting could subject them to mental distress.

Prior to this, residents of various islands have staged protests over delays in handing over row houses and flats.

The majority in Thulhaadhoo Council is held by opposition MDP. However, the island is represented at the Parliament by independently elected Abdul Hannan Aboobakr, who is aligned with the government.