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WATER WORLD
'Disaster' in Maldives as capital suffers water crisis
by Staff Writers
Male, Maldives (AFP) Dec 05, 2014


Maldives declare public holidays to battle water crisis
Male, Maldives (AFP) Dec 06, 2014 - The upmarket honeymoon destination of Maldives Saturday declared two days of public holidays in bid to manage fraying tempers and ration supplies following a drinking water crisis caused when a fire crippled a key desalination plant.

President Abdulla Yameen ordered the closure of government offices Sunday and Monday as engineers struggled to repair the fire-damaged main water purification facility in the capital island of Male.

The two days of holidays were announced to "alleviate difficulties faced by the public due to the current water shortage" in the densely populated capital, a presidential statement said.

Much of the capital was still without drinking water Saturday, two days after the fire, the cause of which police are still investigating.

Yameen appealed to Maldivians to remain "patient and united, while working with the government to resolve the national crisis."

India and Sri Lanka began airlifting bottled water to the capital of the holiday destination Friday as taps ran dry while China and the United States were also rushing help, the government said.

India has also sent ships with desalination capabilities to boost supplies.

Street scuffles erupted Friday in Male at many places where authorities were distributing bottled water under a strict rationing system.

The government said Saturday it would distribute water free to some 120,000 residents, including thousands of expatriate workers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The announcement followed reports the foreign labourers were being denied water at some distribution centres.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom also urged Maldivians to stay calm.

"Govt working hard to solve Male water crisis asap. Let us keep calm till it is solved!" tweeted Gayoom, half-brother of president Yameen.

Officials say it could take up to five days to repair the desalination plant and restore normal water supply.

Over a third of the local population of 330,000 Sunni Muslims live in Male, which covers a just one-square-mile (two-square-kilometre) area, putting huge pressure on drinking water and electricity.

Low-lying Male island relies heavily on treated sea-water for drinking supplies.

Many restaurants and shops were closed and some residents travelled to neighbouring islands where there is water for drinking and washing.

The crisis has not hit the atoll nation's luxury tourist resorts located on other islands, which have their own power generation and desalination plants.

Over one million tourists annually visit the pristine white-sand beaches of the Maldives.

India and Sri Lanka airlifted drinking water to the Maldives Friday after a fire at a desalination plant led to severe shortages and triggered unrest on the streets of the honeymoon islands' capital.

Authorities declared a "disaster situation" after the fire on Thursday led to a drinking water crisis on the main island of Male, one of the world's most densely populated capitals.

Much of the capital was still without drinking water Friday and local media reported that angry residents fought and attacked shops that rationed mineral water, while hotels in Male said supplies were rapidly running out.

However, the crisis has not affected the atoll nation's upmarket tourist resorts, located on other islands, which by law have their own power generation and desalination plants.

India's air force flew bottled water onto the tiny island as authorities scrambled to repair the damage to the plant. Neighbouring Sri Lanka also air lifted 100,000 bottles of water, officials said.

"We have mounted an enormous effort in our assistance to provide a... close partner of India in its hour of need," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told reporters in New Delhi.

"A total of five flights will carry a total of 200 tons of drinking water today. We will have another five flights tomorrow.

"We have also made arrangements for two ships to move to (the) Maldives."

Speaking to reporters in Colombo, a foreign ministry official said that the Sri Lankan government was "sending water as well as equipment needed to carry out urgent repairs to the water supply system".

A report in Minivan News, a private Maldivian website, said the damage to the water purification plant could take up to five days to repair.

"I think the situation is more serious than the government is admitting," a resident said, declining to be identified.

"We had water on tap for about an hour this morning, but that is hardly adequate."

Security forces were distributing water free of charge on the island, which measures just one square-mile (two square kilometres) and is home to some 120,000 residents.

- Migrant workers refused water -

Activists said only those able to produce a Maldivian identity card were eligible for the free supplies, meaning thousands of migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were being left out.

"Maldivians get water when they present ID cards. What about the thousands of unaccounted labourers in the Maldives?" asked political activist Shauna Aminath.

The private Haveeru newspaper reported incidents of expatriate workers being denied water at some distribution centres.

The newspaper quoted the Maldivian Democracy Network, a rights group, condemning those who discriminate between Maldivians and foreign labourers during the water crisis.

The Maldivian Red Crescent said it had deployed 24 staff and 60 emergency volunteers to help the government run water distribution points.

The low-lying island of Male has an efficient system of harvesting rain water, but the ground water cannot be used for drinking or washing, and residents rely heavily on treated sea water.

Many residents travelled to the nearby inhabited islands of Vilingili and Hulhumale, which were unaffected by the crisis, to stock up on water.

Around 330,000 people live in the Maldives, the smallest nation in South Asia, and over one million tourists are drawn to its turquoise seas and pristine white sandy beaches every year.

More than a third of the local population live in Male, which covers an area of just one square mile (two square kilometres), putting huge pressure on resources such as drinking water and electricity supplies.


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