Condition of roads in Hirilandhoo island decline, island residents take matters into their own hands and stabilize muddy roads by refilling mud patches with sand.

Hirilandhoo council reports that over 56,000 sandbags were shipped to the island on three vessels since the residents and fishermen had taken the initiative to conduct road maintenance work. Island residents had refilled roads that had gone muddy due to heavy rainfall, including the complete refilling of the island’s jetty area and eight roads.

While the island residents had, by themselves, refilled the harbor area which had been soiled beyond use, the current administration asserts that it had spent MVR 50 million for the construction of the island’s harbor.

Despite the government’s assertion, the islanders stated that the construction of the island harbor was an initiative by former President Mohamed Nasheed, along with the development of the harbor area which had been hastily completed by the government that followed after Nasheed was forced to step down from term in 2012.

Moreover, islanders stressed that President Yameen had failed to fulfill the pledge to reclaim land in Hirilandhoo island after having pledged to do so during his 2013 campaign manifesto. President Yameen had, after assuming office in 2013, gone back on his word, saying that land reclamation of Hirilandhoo will be costly and cannot be done, which left residents of the island dismayed.