A group of protestors assembled in front of the parliament on Sunday, as part of the global Climate Strike currently taking place in various countries all over the world.
The strikers who gathered around 1000 hrs were carrying boards with slogans advocating for the environment, and they protested in heavy rain, calling for the government to pull the plug on destructive development projects and enforce laws to better protect surroundings.
A while after the protest commenced, the Chair of the parliamentary Environment Committee Ahmed Saleem and other committee members met the protestors on the street and invited them in for a discussion.
The committee sat down with 11 of the protestors inside the parliament premises.
Volunteer of Save Maldives, Humaida Abdul Ghafoor (Humay), who took part in the meeting, disclosed that various concerns were voiced during the discussion, including the lack of enforcement of all the laws enacted to protect and conserve the environment.
"The environment cannot be protected just by having something written on paper. It should be enforced. We are not seeing that happen", Humaida said.
She further stated that concerns over the continuation of dredging and lack of response over the issues submitted to the Ministry of Environment were also shared with the parliament committee.
In addition, the protestors highlighted the lack of action regarding the reduction of plastic usage.
The committee's Chair Saleem concluded the meeting with the promise to discuss and find solutions for the concerns voiced by the volunteer group.
Global Climate Strike commenced across the globe last Friday, with Maldives also following suit with its own activities. The Climate Strike in Maldives is scheduled to be held on Thursday near Velaanaage.
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