Turfs on field 4 years; now set on fire

Four years after the rolled turfs were taken to the football ground in HDh. Nolhivaram, a group of people set it on fire on Monday night.

The construction of the field in Nolhivaram started at the end of the previous government. In 2020, the government had sent turf to build a football field at the site. But the work didn't pan out, and all these days, the turfs were piled up on the football field site.

The Nolhivaram Council said the turfs were set on fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The council also said that before everything had burnt out, some islanders and the police rushed to the spot and had doused the fire, the council said.

Council president Yusuf Moosa said that while the arsonists and the cause are not yet known, the islanders have been very unhappy that the project was not progressing.

"It's not just the people, I am also not comfortable with it. How long has it been since the work has started and there is a field?," Yusuf said.

According to him:

"We have requested the government to complete the work from time to time. But it has still remained," Yusuf said.

Youth minister Ahmed Mahloof condemned the turf arson at Nolhivaram football field.

Mahloof tweeted that the turfs were set on fire when they were three days away from being laid in the field, and that it was a deliberate act.

The minister also said:

While Mahloof said the ministry was preparing to complete the field, the Nolhivaram council said it was not aware of any such plan.