Guesthouse business getting affected by land erosion: Mathiveri council
The island has a population of 900 residents and about 10 guesthouses
Mathiveri island, Alif Alif atoll
Council of Mathiveri island in Alif Alif atoll has revealed that their local guesthouse businesses are getting affected due to land erosion.
Speaking to RaajjeMV, Councilor Ilyas Ibrahim revealed that a huge chunk of the island has eroded from the south-west side of the island and it is still occurring.
Stressing that land erosion is a pressing issue, Ibrahim said that the island residents continue to express their concern to the delay in providing a solution for the matter.
Further, Ibrahim said that they had lost many palm trees due to land erosion and that it has now reached the area where local guesthouse businesses are positioned. Due to this, the tourism community is facing a lot of challenges, he added.
In addition, Ibrahim stated that an assessment team form the Environment Ministry had arrived in the island to evaluate the region during the past month of Ramadan, however, the council is yet to receive a response from them about their findings.
The council had proposed to reclaim land on the island to the ministry earlier, in order to reach a solution for land erosion.
With a population of 900 residents, the island in Alif Alif atoll has a fast-growing guesthouse business. Although the island has been facing land erosion for a few years now, the previous administration had not prioritized solving it during its five-year tenure which came to an end in November 2018. As such, although the previous government also conducted a survey, they had not acted on providing a solution for the issue, revealed the council.
