Tag: track swimming area

EPA to seek legal advice over fining STELCO

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) will seek legal advice from the Attorney General over fining the State Electricity Company (STELCO) for environmental damages.

On March 30 an STELCO oil pipe buried under Male’s ring road Boduthakurufaanumagu burst, leaking large quantities of oil into the track swimming area, frequented by school children and the public.

Following the accident with the oil pipe, the EPA discovered 4.4ml of oil in the swimming area in its thrice-weekly inspections.

EPA Director Ibrahim Naeem told MNBC One that the agency has decided to fine STELCO as the company was responsible for the damage. However he did not reveal the amount of fines to be levied.

In February this year, the EPA fined STELCO Rf400,000 (US$25,900) after large quantities of oil kept in barrels in the Gaakoshi plot in Male’ seeped into the ground.

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Doctor’s examination shows dead infant’s body had cuts, wounds and bruises

Doctors examining the body of an dead infant found in a bag in the swimming track area have reported that the baby’s body had cuts, bruises and other wounds.

A police officer swimming in the track area on Thursday discovered the corpse of the premature baby underwater.

“The doctor said there were three cuts in the arms, not very deep cuts,’’ said spokesperson for Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), Zeenath Ali.

‘’There were two bruises on a leg and two wounds to the head,” she added.

She said it was difficult to say the cause of the injuries.

‘’It may be the ropes in the area caused  these injuries,’’ she said, adding that the infant appeared to have been born 26-28 weeks prematurely.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam also confirmed that several injuries were found on the infant’s body.

‘’We cannot say the cause of the injuries exactly,’’ Shiyam said. ‘’The dead body has now been laid to rest.’’

He said police were currently investigating the case.

Local media reported that the baby was bleeding when it was taken out of the water and that the umbilical cord and placenta were still attached. Haveeru published a picture of infant which appeared to have been put in a plastic bag.

In November last year another abandoned newborn female baby was discovered alive in some bushes near the Wataniya telecommunications tower in Hulhumale’.

As a Muslim country, abortion is illegal in the Maldives except to save a mother’s life, or if a child suffers from a congenital defect such as thalassemia. Several studies on HIV in the Maldives have identified risk factors including high levels of promiscuity and little use of contraception, and anecdotal evidence points overwhelmingly to a high rate of abortion.

In an article on the subject in 2009, Minivan News reported that many women unable to travel to Sri Lanka resort to illegal abortions performed by unskilled individuals in unhygienic settings. Abortion-inducing pills and injections administered by amateur abortionists are one recourse while others turn to harmful vaginal preparations, containing chemicals such as bleach or kerosene. Although infrequent, some insert objects into their uterus or induce abdominal trauma, such is the stigma of having a child out of wedlock.

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Dead baby found in swimming area

A police officer swimming in the track area on thew south side of Male’ this afternoon discovered the corpse of a premature baby underwater.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed to Minivan News that a dead female baby was found in the track swimming area.

”The baby has now been taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) for examinations,” Shiyam said. ”We can’t confirm how old the baby is.”

IGMH spokesperson Zeentha Ali said doctors were currently examining the body and that the hospital would comment once the examination was complete.

Local media SunFM reported that the baby was bleeding when it was taken out of the water and that the umbilical cord was still attached. Haveeru published a picture of infant which appeared to have been put in a plastic bag.

In November last year another abandoned newborn female baby was discovered alive in some bushes near the Wataniya telecommunications tower in Hulhumale’.

As a Muslim country, abortion is illegal in the Maldives except to save a mother’s life, or if a child suffers from a congenital defect such as thalassemia. But anecdotal evidence points overwhelmingly to a high rate of abortion.

Examining the subject in late 2009, Minivan News referred to a 2007 report from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) that concluded that widespread premarital and extramarital sex, high rates of divorce and remarriage (including sex between marriages), and poor access and practice of contraception could lead to a high number of unwanted pregnancies in the country.

The IPPF interviewed four demographically-diverse focus groups, and revealed that induced abortions were common among women and girls in Male’ with most ostensibly taking place in unsafe circumstances.

All four groups said that despite being illegal, sex outside of marriage was commonplace, especially among young people. Nor was it uncommon for married men to have affairs with unmarried girls.

The report found that the stigma of having a child out of wedlock compels women and girls to opt for abortions. Two focus groups of unmarried boys and girls asserted that abortion was widespread. Some said they knew of girls as young as 12 who had undergone abortions and each knew at least one person who had terminated a pregnancy.

However the IPPF never obtained government permission to formally carry out a wider study because of the qualitative nature of its research, and its findings were never acknowledged or made public.

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