Addu City, Maldives – The PPM candidate competing as the Mayor of Addu City, Mohamed Latheef has requested President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to rethink the decision and to build the Cement Stabilised Base (CSB) layer on Addu roads.
In a letter to the President, Latheef said that while the government has signed an agreement with India for one of their companies to build cement layers on Addu roads under the Addu development project, this is a very undeveloped idea and that many citizens of Addu also feel the same. He added that the President himself would know, as a person who lived in Malé for a long time, the outcome of building cement layers on major roads such as Majeedhee Magu.
He added that cement based roads aldo give arise to many more problems such as cement cutting of where vehicles drive causing damage to the vehicles and lubrication of the surface whenever it rains causing people to slip. He added that as a person who witnessed such a situation, it is not very forgettable.
Latheef also noted that building cement based layers is not something anyone would in this modernised world and that the result of doing so is evident from Malé. He said that the loan taken from India to develop cement based roads in 60 percent of the roads in Addu will later turn out to be a wasteful expense. He added that all the problems including having to remove the cement once it breaks away causing more inconveniences to pedestrians and vehicles will come all at once.
Furthermore, Latheef suggested that if the government does not have tye capacity to develop asphalt roads in all of Addu, they should use blocks to cover the roads as in Malé so that one of that future administrations can develop asphalt roads after removing the blocks.
In addition to this, Latheef went on to highlight the concerns of Addu citizens regarding the police academy being developed in Addu with the help of India. He said that workers at the construction site do not buy even a kilo of carrots from Addu shops. He added that Addu citizens are not able to receive any profit while a project worth millions in being carried out in the city.
Latheef also suggested in his letter, to consider the thoughts of Addu citizens when deciding on major developments project and other decisions involving the city. He added that while a huge project worth MVR 1.1 billion was finalised, the thoughts of Addu citizens should have been taken into account and that Addu City Council should also play a role in planning and deciding on such a major project.
Latheef further went on to say that as a candidate competing for Addu City Mayor, he hopes that the President will take into his concerns into consideration without being biased on a certain colour or political party. He also assured that as a citizen of Addu that loves the city, he would give his full cooperation in any project concerning Addu City’s development.
