Category: News in Brief

Kerala minister to look into Indian teacher’s incarceration in Maldives

Chief Minister of Kerala state Oommen Chandy has pledged to provide all assistance necessary to secure the release of K.K. Jayachandran – an Indian teacher jailed in the Maldives.

Chandy gave the assurances to the Jayachandran’s family following the teacher’s wife’s petition to Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, reported the Hindu.

Jyothi Jayachandran sad that her husband had been falsely accused of abusing a student at his school on Feali Island, in Faafu Atoll, in April of this year.

“Subsequently, the complaint was withdrawn by the victim and his parents, but the police pursued the case by extending his custody, ” Jyothi was quoted as telling the Hindu last week.

“I have approached the Indian High Commission and Embassy office at the Maldives. So far, I have got no positive response from them,” she said.

Chandy subsequently said he would summon the consul attached to the Maldivian Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday as well as contacting the Indian High Commission in Malé.

Source: The Hindu

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Special needs patient still missing from Guraidhoo

The Ministry of Law and Gender says that a patient remains missing from the Specials Needs Home in Kaafu Guraidhoo.

After a 28-year-old patient went missing on Friday evening, search efforts now include security services, the island council and the coast guard, Deputy Minister Mohamed Zahid told media.

Guraidhoo Island Council member Ali Shameem said it was unlikely the man had gone through the main entrance, which is normally closed and watched. He speculated that the patient may have climbed one of the trees within the compound to get over the high fence.

The ministry announced earlier this year that the government had plans to turn the home into a mental health institute, with centre’s elderly and mentally ill residents provided with separate facilities.

Employees at the facility – which currently homes around 167 patients – have described the facility as under-resourced, with too few staff to provide proper care, and psychiatric patients not allowed the opportunity for rehabilitation.

“The people are suffering here,” one staff member told Minivan News last month, “the management is not good”.

Source: Haveeru

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Concessionary travel for Maldivian civil servants on way, reports Times of India

Maldivian civil servants are likely to be given concessionary travel status by India, reports the Times of India.

The Indian government is said to be considering granting leave travel concession (LTC) for government employees to Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives in order boost tourism.

Sources in India’s tourism ministry told the Times that 200,000 civil servants in the region could benefit from the arrangement.

“But there will have to be some reciprocal arrangement. We are working on that,” the paper quoted ministry sources as saying – adding that neighbouring governments had been contacted.

The theme of the Kathmandu Declaration – signed at the conclusion of last month’s SAARC summit in Nepal – was ‘Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity’.

“It is still harder to travel within our region than to Bangkok or Singapore, and more expensive to speak to each other,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reported to have told neighbouring heads of state during the summit.

The Times noted that travel between the Maldives and India had dropped by 10% between 2012 and 2013.

Indian visa regulations were tightened just weeks after the premature termination of a US$500 million airport development deal with Indian infrastructure giant GMR in late 2012. Indian authorities at the time claimed the decision to have been intended to draw attention to the Maldives’ treatment of expatriate workers.

Shortly after President Abdulla Yameen’s trip to Indian in January, the Indian High Commission in Malé announced that all restrictions had been lifted – with High Commissioner Rajeev Shahare noting that the Maldives now enjoyed visa privileges afforded to no other country.

Source: Times of India

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HRCM commends government response to water crisis

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) commended the government’s response and relief efforts during the ongoing Malé water crisis in a statement issued yesterday on the occasion of International Human Rights Day.

The efforts of various government institutions – under the supervision of President Abdulla Yameen – to provide water to residents of the capital were “praiseworthy,” HRCM Chair Mariyam Azra said.

The HRCM noted that arrangements were made to prioritise persons with special needs, pregnant women, the elderly, and children.

The commission advised taking the human rights of disadvantaged persons into account when formulating government policies, structures, and plans.

Parliament should also ensure the protection of fundamental rights in approving legislation, the statement added, noting that rights could only be restricted or narrowed “only if demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

Meanwhile, among the commission’s achievements during the past year were conducting a national inquiry into the rights of persons with disabilities and finalising plans to open a regional office in the south.

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Second Phase of Hulhumalé land reclamation project to begin in late December

President Abdulla Yameen has announced that the second phase of the Hulhumalé land reclamation project will begin this month and that all preparatory measures for the reclamation have been taken.

While speaking at a foundation laying ceremony for 704 new flats built with the Chinese loans, President Yameen said that the dredging boat will arrive late December and start work on the reclamation.

President Yameen also said that the reclaimed land will not only be used for social housing projects, but also for opening investment opportunities for potential investors.

“Majority of the reclaimed land will go towards social housing. However, land will be allocated for luxury apartments and apartments for foreigners who wish to settle in the Maldives,” said President Yameen.

The second phase is to feature a theme park, yacht marina, specialized tourism district and various infrastructure aimed at the youth population.

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Two tourists injured in Huraa Jet Ski accident

Two tourists have been hospitalized following injuries in a Jet Ski accident in Kaafu Atoll Huraa Island.

According to the Maldives Police Services, a Danish woman, 20 years old, and a Danish man, 21 years old, are being treated at Malé’s ADK hospital.

The two were riding two separate Jet Skis side by side and collided when one of the Jet Skis speeded up and attempted to turn around.

The case is under investigation, the police said.

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Three injured in police tow yard fire

Three people sustained minor injuries in a fire that broke out at the police tow yard in Malé during the early hours of the morning on Tuesday (December 9).

Police said the fire incident occurred at 5:54am and was controlled by 6:10am.

The fire damaged an expatriate residential quarter at the city council’s Thaisey Koshi on Boduthakurufaanu Magu, a police room at the tow yard, and impounded vehicles.

Speaking to the press today, Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adeeb suggested that the fire may have been a political attack against the government in response to the ongoing water crisis.

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Housing ministry extends period for accepting application forms for home ownership programme

The Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure has decided to extend the period for submitting application forms for the government’s home ownership – or ‘Gedhoruverikan’ – programme.

In a press release today, the ministry announced that members of the public issued tokens to submit application forms on Sunday and Monday could do so from December 9 to 31.

President Abdulla Yameen has declared a two-day government holiday following the disruption to the capital’s water supply caused by a fire at the Malé Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) last week.

Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muiz revealed last month that 8,700 people had submitted application forms for the housing programme while tokens have been issued to a further 17,000.

The government announced the ‘Gedhoruverikan’ social housing scheme, to provide flats for citizens of the capital and finance for construction in the atolls, in February.

Photo by: Nattu Adnan

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Four-year-old victim of accident in Malé dies

A four-year-old victim of a dangerous accident that occurred in the capital Malé yesterday (December 6) has died while undergoing treatment for injuries, police have confirmed.

The four-year-old boy was among five people injured when a pickup driving down Majeedhee Magu – the capital’s main thoroughfare – crashed into three parked motorcycles and a car as well as three motorcycles driving in the opposite direction.

The victims of the accident included two men and two women, who were immediately taken to the ADK hospital for treatment. The driver of the pickup was meanwhile taken into police custody.

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