The GDh. Gaddhoo Council has advised vessels to exercise caution when navigating the island's harbour entrance after its navigation light collapsed.
The Gaddhoo harbour entrance light fell during the strong southwest monsoon winds and heavy rains that affected the Maldives in the middle of this month. Gaddhoo Council President Mohamed Ahmed stated that, as a safety precaution, they are urging all vessels entering and exiting the channel to be careful. He specifically requested vessels travelling to Gaddhoo from other islands to pay extra attention.
"Since you are a news outlet, I am specifically requesting outsiders... those from outside Gaddhoo, to be cautious when using the Gaddhoo entrance channel. They won't know the exact layout of the channel, and even if shown on GPS, the accuracy won't be that high, right? I urge outsiders to be careful when entering and exiting the island, especially when travelling at night," the Council President said.
The Council President noted that installing the entrance light as soon as possible is crucial for the safety and security of those using the channel, and efforts are underway to find a quick solution. In this regard, he mentioned that the council has reported the collapsed light to the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), the company constructing the island's new harbour.
The council reported the issue to MTCC because installing the entrance light is part of the new harbour development project. The Council President revealed that the entrance light had previously fallen while the harbour project was ongoing, and at that time, it was reinstalled at the council's expense.
"The entrance light that fell was also installed at the council's expense while the harbour project was ongoing. The project is still not finished; installing the light at the entrance channel with its two legs is part of that project's work. The plan now is to contact MTCC to bring a solution to this. The council cannot keep doing this forever, right? An entrance light costs at least five thousand rufiyaa. Then ten thousand rufiyaa for installation, so twenty thousand rufiyaa was spent by the council, making it roughly a thirty thousand rufiyaa job," the Council President said.
The Council President stated that the harbour project has been stalled for about a year, and the iron rods at the base of the pillars for the dinghy jetty being built inside the lagoon near the outer breakwater have now started to rust.
"Even while the harbour work is ongoing, vessels will enter and exit through that same channel; the harbour is on the western side of the island. Both harbours on the island are full. There are two harbours; the southern harbour is generally used by small vessels, speedboats, and dinghies, while the northern harbour is used by fishing vessels. As I said, the fishing vessels are in the northern harbour. The official entrance channel is at the northern harbour. The light of this channel is what fell. Then the ice jetty is also located near the left side of the channel, so just imagine!" the President said.
The President noted that many such issues directly related to fisheries remain unresolved. He expressed concern that the island's operational ice plant has stopped issuing ice for over six months due to a sensor issue.
