Minister Mariya criticizes outgoing government over Malé flooding

Minister of Defence Mariya Ahmed Didi has criticized the outgoing government after severe flooding in capital city Malé on Wednesday.

After her visit to the National Disaster Management Center to assess the operation to ease the impact of the flooding, Minister Mariya had spoken to the press.

The recently appointed minister, who served as parliamentarian and a staunch critic of the previous government, said that this is the result of bringing about ‘surface-level’ development and ‘doing only part of the necessary work’.

Referring to the Malé Ring Road Development Project, Minister Mariya said that former president Abdulla Yameen’s government had developed the capital’s outer road higher than it was previously and that this caused the water to flood into the inner roads of the city.

The capital city and islands around it experienced 223.5 millimeters of rain on Wednesday, the Maldives Meteorological Services has said, causing damage to 160 households in Malé.

Residents of two households have also been relocated and given temporary shelter.