Nasheed concerned over felling trees to redevelop road
According to RDC, instead of cutting down the trees, they will be uprooted and relocated to Kudagiri picnic island.
By
Mohamed Muzayyin Nazim
Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed on Tuesday expressed concern over the cutting of trees on Ameenee Magu for redevelopment.
Ameenee Magu redevelopment project was launched on 30 August, but RDC kicked off physical works last week after sealing off one of its sections.
The corporation has come under fire for uprooting several large trees on the road.
At Tuesday's parliament sitting, Nasheed, who is also the president of the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), expressed concern over the cutting of trees and said that another way should be found.
"It takes 15-20 years for a tree to grow, but it takes two to three months to build a road. It is essential to find a way to build roads without cutting down trees," said Nasheed.
He said that he hoped Male City Council and RDC would also "find a way to build roads without cutting down trees."
RDC said in a statement that the company had initially tried to redevelop the road without damaging any of the trees, but several utility networks had been laid underground.
The company said no blueprints and drawings exist to adequately understand the state of the water, sewerage and other networks laid underground. Roots of the trees had already damaged several parts of the networks, it added.
