Govt didn't allow second-hand market relocation: Mayor
Muizzu said detailed decisions were taken in June-July that year to shift the Neelan shop from Male to an industrial zone.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
Male mayor Dr Mohamed Muizzu said on Monday that the government did not grant permission to shift the second-hand market shops operating in Male to industrial villages.
A fire broke out at the market in the wee hours of Monday and the Male city council's accommodation block in the area was also rendered unusable. The first fire broke out last night at the Neelan shop.
The council has cleaned up the area on several occasions as goods are being dumped on the road in the area where the market is located.
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The council had banned the market from doing business outside the shops, but that did not stop
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The council's strategy plan was to develop an area from the industrial village and run the market shop there
Speaking to Sangu TV about the fire, Mayor Muizzu said that the civic body had tried to shift the market on several occasions.
"The council of this term came, and it was passed by the council in mid-2021. The council’s strategic plan, passed by the council, also says that the market should be removed from there and then a permanent solution would be found," he said.
Muizzu said detailed decisions were taken in June-July that year to shift the market from Male to an industrial zone. He said the council had requested the government to allot a suitable area from the industrial village for the purpose.
"From there, our decision was to remove the existing market from its current location and shift it by earmarking a special space for it," Muizzu said.
"The places have been built as per the proper rules and they have been developed in a safe manner in all respects. But the government has not given the land."
Muizzu said the land sought by the city council would not be difficult for the Male bus route and the Thilamale' bridge project. He said the land was still lying unused.
"If the government had given the land that day, today the market would have been taken away from residential areas in the city," he said, adding that there would be no such fire incident.
The accommodation block where 166 employees of Male City Council were staying was gutted in the fire that broke out in the morning and they are currently staying at Imaduddin School. No one was injured in the incident.
