Opposition blames govt negligence for ministry fire, files police case
The three affected ministries have temporarily relocated to the Dharubaaruge, where services have been provided since Sunday.
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Housing ministry, construction ministry, and environment ministry were damaged in a fire on Thursday due to government negligence, opposition Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) said Monday.
The fire at the housing ministry was brought under control after six hours. The fire also affected the construction ministry, and the Green Building, which houses the environment ministry.
MDP held a press conference Monday morning to express its concerns. MDP Legal Director Mahfooz Saeed stated that the party had requested the police to initiate a criminal investigation into the incident. He also mentioned that a separate case would be submitted to the National Integrity Commission (NIC).
“We believe that an independent investigation should be conducted to determine the cause of the fire and provide an explanation to the public,” Mahfooz said.
Former deputy speaker of parliament Ahmed Saleem noted that there are wide roads between the MNDF fire station and the housing and construction ministries. He questioned why it took so long to control the fire, given the short distance between the two locations.
"The Green Building is still a separate building. Why didn’t we have enough time to save the building? Why did it take so long? These questions need to be answered," Saleem said.
Saleem further questioned why the fire extinguishers donated by STELCO to the MNDF were not used to tackle the fire.
He also pointed out that while there were various sources of information on the incident, the key issue remains that these matters are not adequately addressed by current laws.
“We heard Deputy Mayor Ahmed Nareesh stating that the land registries were destroyed. Housing minister Dr Ali Haider has also mentioned that important information will be lost if the server is not saved, but construction minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib insists that no information related to housing has been lost,” Saleem added.
Following the fire, the three affected ministries have temporarily relocated to the Dharubaaruge, where services have been provided since Sunday.
