Council mulls action against repeated littering

Male City Council said on Sunday that it is working to clean up the city's roads, but is considering taking action against those who repeatedly litter the streets, alleging that some people are dumping garbage in places where it is not allowed.

The agreement between Male City Council and WAMCO to clean up public places in Male expired and the agreement was not renewed and the council decided to do it on its own.

Though these boards have been put up, there is no solution to the problem of garbage being dumped on city roads. Pictures left by people on social media in the last few days also show garbage dumped on the city's roads. 

When asked about it Sunday, council spokesman Mariyam Shiuna said that the council teams are carrying out cleaning work in the capital. She, however, stressed the need to take personal responsibility, saying that the work of the council staff alone would not make the capital clean.

"Garbage is also being dumped in places where boards have been put up indicating the ban on littering," she said.

"With the responsibility of both the people and institutions, the roads can be cleaned."

Shiuna said:

"WAMCO will not ask us to keep garbage on the road. The police will not always be on the streets to see who does it. But even the police advise people to stop it when they find it," he said.

Shiuna said the council's efforts to keep the roads clean would be strengthened in the near future.

The cleaning work in the city was halted for two days after a fire broke out in the second hand market area last week, which gutted the council's accommodation block and forced many of its employees to be shifted to temporary shelters. The council, however, said the employees has started returning to work.