Addressing these concerns, the spokesperson of the President's office, Mohamed Miuvan stated that cutting down the trees is necessary to carry on with the project as they are not common roadside trees.
Twitter @rdcmaldives
One thing that many people look for when moving to a new city is how walkable that city is. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to enjoy the simple happiness we get from being out and about and connecting to nature, the availability of a road that is developed to be easy to drive and pedestrian-friendly has become more important than ever.
However, the need for roads to be developed to meet these fundamental and necessary criteria has been a need in Male’ city for a long time. With most of the streets in Male’ having either no trees at all or the severe lack of trees along with all the bumps and holes on the road, being out and about can be quite a hassle and even painful for many.
Having to walk or even drive directly under the heat as there are no trees to provide shade and tripping or driving into bumps causing both back pain and possible minor injuries, the re-development of the roads has been something people living in the city have been hoping for a long time.
The development of Ameenee Magu
In addition to the streetscaping project which aimed to fix the general concerns that the citizens living in Male’ city and the lack of parking space and green zone issues, the issue of flooding during rainy seasons, lack of a proper pedestrian walk among several other concerns - in July 2022 the Road Development Corporation (RDC) was contracted with the development of Ameenee Magu - one of the most commonly used roads in Male’ city. This MVR 84.4 million project of 212 days was aimed to develop a 7.1 km asphalt road, install of a storm drainage system, and installation of streetlights.
By the end of August of 2022 the fieldwork for the development of Ameenee magu started, and so did the criticism surrounding the project. One of the major concerns surrounding this project was the fear that the project would lead to the cutting down of trees in Ameenee Magu.
Since this is one of the few roads in Male’ city with so much greenery, citizens were concerned that the development of the road may lead to a better road for walking and driving while losing the natural beauty and shade that the trees are providing.
However, while speaking to a media outlet of the Maldives, the Managing Director of RDC reassured that the trees on the road would not be cut down unless there is no other way around it and asked the citizens to be patient during the development phase of the road.
And while many believed that following the statement, RDC would not cut down any trees on the road, when the project commenced they did exactly the opposite of what they said. Some of the largest trees on Ameenee Magu were being cut down for road development, and as one might expect, no one was pleased, and the problem grew worse by the day.
Addressing these concerns, the spokesperson of the President's office, Mohamed Miuvan stated that cutting down the trees is necessary to carry on with the project as they are not common roadside trees.
“As the water lens in Malé and is quite shallow, the roots of these trees spread quite wide. Because of this spread, pipes and cables are damaged and face challenges when placing the pipes. We are not throwing away the trees after removing them; they will be relocated. After that, re-greening of the road will happen”
According to RDC, as the roots of the bigger trees in Ameenee Magu have damaged several cables, they had no choice but to remove the trees from the road. However, as they have promised to carry out this road development project in an environmentally friendly manner, the trees that are being removed from the road are to be relocated to Kudagiri - a picnic island that is being developed by the Government of the Maldives.
On September 28, 2022 Shauna & Co.LLP took to Twitter to announce that the law firm will be filing a case for their client Mohamed Nasheed, a former President of the Maldives and the current parliament speaker of the Maldives.
“We will be filing a case tomorrow at the court on behalf of our client @MohamedNasheed, requesting for an order to stop the removal of urban forestry in Ameeni Magu, as such removal will cause irreparable damage to the environment. We will also seek a temporary injunction order.”
Even after the statements by RDC and the President's Office, many were still unhappy regarding the cutting down of trees, as Male’ city does not have any trees to spare. With the greenery of the island depending on the few roads, such as Ameenee Magu having several large trees, cutting down of said trees would only be adding to the heat and lack of fresh air in the densely populated city that is in desperate need to be more green.
While everyone wants Male' city's roads to be improved to make life easier for residents, nobody wants to see the city's few trees cut down for the sake of said development.
