Police arrest 5 in Uligamu protests

The Police have today arrested 5 people, including a legally-minor under the age of 18 years, during a protest in H.A. Uligamu. It is reported that the people took to the streets to express frustration over the temporarily halted City Hotel project.

The City Hotel in Uligamu is a project undertaken by the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), a Government corporation, and the project has been kept on hold for more than 2 years.

Imad Abdullah, President of Uligamu Council, told Sun that the protests were conducted because MTDC had breached the agreement made between the Corporation and Uligamu Island Development Committee for the development of the City Hotel. He said that the protests were aimed at “bringing the issue to the attention of the Government”.

The Police said that 5 persons were arrested because they put up a fence around the area where MTDC was carrying out construction work. They also said that the individuals would be kept in detention under a Court Order for 5 days for the purpose of questioning.

The police declined to confirm the report from the Council that a minor was arrested.

The protests occurred three days ago, although 5 persons were arrested on the night of last Thursday, according to Imad.

A plot of land was contracted to MTDC for development of City Hotel some four years ago, according to the information provided by the Island Council.