Tag: Business Standard

Down and out in the Maldives: Business Standard

The Maldives offers a range of thrills — all you need is time to kill and dollars to burn, writes N Sundaresha Subramanian for the Business Standard.

But I have neither the time nor the dollars. So I go looking for ways to get to Kandooma. Most of my fellow passengers are honeymooning couples or Maldivians returning home with families. I am the odd one out, a realisation that makes me a little jittery.

I ask an elderly security guard. “Kandooma…err.” he searches the sea and says, “Sorry I don’t know.” No one else seems to either. Finally, hidden in the arrival area, I find a counter with the name of my resort on it. I run to the frail receptionist in orange shirt and khaki pants. “A boat is leaving in 10 minutes, sir, please take a seat.” Thank god. How far is Kandooma from here? “Forty-five minutes by speed boat.”

But I need to come back to the airport for the ceremony at night. What time does the boat leave from there? “There is a boat at 8 pm. But they will charge you.” “That’s ok,” I say feeling the five 20-dollar bills in my shirt pocket. I am a little worried as the only other passengers to Kandooma are an elderly white couple. As the boat arrives I am relieved to see some more men join the crew of three.

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Bangladesh-Maldives sand deal shelved: Business Standard

A deal in the pipeline last year between the Maldives and Bangladesh to ship sand from Bangladeshi rivers to increase the land level of Maldivian islands in anticipation of sea-level rise appears to have been shelved, according to a report by Business Standard.

“I don’t think the plan is still there. They wanted to export sand to up the land level in defence against rising sea level. We had asked them to dredge and take the sand from our rivers, but they never came back with a complete proposal. I do not think that Maldives has such technical expertise,” Ghulam Muhammed Quader, Bangladesh commerce minister was quoted as saying.

The plan was reportedly conceptualised during a meeting between former President Mohamed Nasheed and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed in 2010.

“Even if, Maldives was willing, there were some pros and cons for the project as it involved environmental issues too,” Quader added.

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