GA. Atoll Education Center’s canteen shut down after rats seen crawling over food

The canteen at the GA. Atoll Education Center, located in GA. Vilingili, was temporarily closed down on Monday, after rats were seen crawling over the food on display.

The decision comes after a short video clip went viral on Monday, showing rats crawling over short-eats, locally known as hedhika, inside a food display rack at the canteen.

The regional school’s principal Thamheed told Sun that the incident took place on Monday morning, shortly after the food was brought out.

He said that this was before anyone ate the food.

“One of our staff members saw it. I attended to it as soon as I was informed of it. The short-eats had already been taken out when I arrived. There weren’t any rats either,” he said.

Shaheed said that the Vilingili Public Health Unit has temporarily closed down the canteen after inspection.

The sighting of rats at a school canteen comes a month after a video of a rat eating a watermelon at the local market in Hulhumale’ went viral on social media. The Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) stated at the time that they had inspected the market, and instructed measures to rectify the issues they identified.