Malé, Maldives – The islanders of Filladhoo, today, protested against the constituency MP Ibrahim Shareef during his visit to the island and demanded he return Dhapparu to Filladhoo jurisdiction.
Filladhoo protestors also accused MP Shareef of masterminding the decision to remove Dhapparu from Filladhoo’s jurisdiction without any prior discussion with the islanders. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s released decree on 29 August 2021 informing Filladhoo of this decision.
The islanders also demanded the MP to resign from his position since he has not fulfilled his campaign pledges. Filladhoo locals said that the MP who represents the islands of HA. Filladhoo and HA. Kela discriminates against Filladhoo since he belongs to Kela.
While MP Shareef left the island shortly after, he states that the decision was his to leave the island. The Parliamentarian added that he has listened to the concerns of Filladhoo locals and will request President Solih to return Dhapparu to Filladhoo constituency.
On September 1, the Spokesperson of President’s Office Mabrook Azeez acknowledged the lack of consultation with the council regarding the project and elaborated that the proposed Dhapparu project is to develop the island for real-estate tourism, the goal is to create a new tourist product in the Maldives.
Dhapparu was removed while Filladhoo Council has created land-use plans that included Dhapparu in its jurisdiction.
Filladhoo Island Council President Fathuhulla Hassan said that none of the islanders of Filladhoo consents to the removal of Dhapparu which is a connected half of Filladhoo to be removed from their island. He added that regardless of how the islanders use the other half of the island, every island wants to be land rich.
