Ameenee Magu tree felling again sparks backlash
RDC Media Officer Ahmed Fairooz told Atoll Times on Sunday that the road construction work is being carried out as was planned in the first place.
After criticising the redevelopment of the Ameenee Magu by cutting down trees during the rule of former President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih, the then opposition turned government is also under public fire now for cutting down the mature trees lining Ameenee Magu.
11 out of 13 segments of Ameenee Magu have been completed by the time the incumbent President Mohammed Muizzu took over the government. Work on the remaining two segments began on Saturday.
Under the work, the trees in the area from the junction of Kanba-Aisa-Rani street where the Maafannu Radio Building is located to the outer road of IGMH are being cut down.
With that, a post that was made in 'X' last April by President Muizzu when he was city mayor attracted a lot of public attention.
"The city council is planting trees and greening the city while the government is cutting down trees. The trees on Ameenee Road are being removed while the city council is opposed to it," the post said.
Some employees of the Male City Council also spoke against the felling of trees. Some of them are now in high government positions.
"Where are these people when the trees are cut down today? During [former President Solih's] tenure, it seemed as if ants were crawling up their legs," someone asked in 'X'.
"This government will not cut. The previous government will cut," is a sarcastic phrase repeated by more than one person.
Another person posted a photo of the tree being cut down that day and wrote on social media, "Today, under your government, there is no problem with trees being cut down to build the same Ameenee Road”.
Moosa Ali-Manik, former managing director of the Road Development Corporation (RDC), which is developing the Ameenee Magu, also posted addressing President Muizzu over the tree felling for the Ameenee Road work in this government.
"Both the ministry and the RDC are now under your control. Is it OK to cut down trees now? Is there no corruption in the Ameenee road project? If you are not misleading the people about the road, look at the corruption and make it public," he wrote.
RDC spokesperson Ahmed Fairooz told Atoll Times on Sunday that the road construction work is being carried out as was planned in the first place.
According to him:
-
Trees that are essential for road construction are being cut down
-
For every tree cut down, another tree will be planted there and the trees cut down will be planted in another island or another area of the city
Ameenee Magu Project:
-
The work was awarded for MVR 84.4 million
-
The then Planning Ministry, which had awarded the RDC the work to complete it in 210 days, delayed it and gave it a date of September this year
-
The work was not completed by that date and later it was said that the work would be carried out by the new government
