Water drainage pump station at Maafannu Cemetery damaged due to City Council's negligence: Muththalib

Construction Minister Dr. Abdullah Muththalib stated today that the water drainage pump station at Maafannu Cemetery has been damaged due to negligence by the contractor tasked by Male' City Council to clear the area, and this is believed to be intentionally done.

Muththalib told Mihaaru that while the City Council has been working with a contractor to clear the Maafannu Cemetery land, the contractor has been very irresponsible in their work. He said they had removed and damaged the pipes connected to the stormwater pump station built within the cemetery for draining water from the Maafannu area.

Muththalib said the pump station was working even during the severe flooding in Male' on the third of this month.

The stormwater pump station at Maafannu Cemetery is one of the stations installed by MWSC between 2014 and 2018 in various parts of Male' to solve flooding issues. It is the main station used for draining water from the Maafannu area.

Muththalib said the work was done after removing the graves and thoroughly cleaning the area.

"We now believe this was done intentionally," he said.

"The reason I say this is because they sent a letter to hold a meeting regarding maintenance matters. I had already informed them that the ministry is continuing to maintain the pump stations even now."

When Muththalib shared this issue on X, Male' Mayor Adam Azim responded, saying that when the pump station parts were dismantled, the station hadn't been working for about five months. Azim said some people had damaged the station's electrical board.

However, contradicting Azim's statements, Muththalib said the station was working during the heavy rain on the third of this month, and no issues were noted then. He said ministry staff check the condition of pump stations around Male' every time it rains.

"The last time it rained [on the third of this month], even during the worst flooding, that pump was working. Then, as before, all pump stations were properly maintained; the ministry has a special team that checks if all pumps are working every time," Muththalib said.

"When we checked if the pump stations were working today, we noticed that [the Maafannu Cemetery pump's] parts had been removed."

Muththalib has also shared some photos on X. The photos show that the pipes connected to the pump station well have been removed, and the concrete has been demolished. The electrical board has also been removed.

"As a result, the drainage of flood water in the entire area is becoming much slower than before," Muththalib said.

Muththalib said the City Council did this without even informing the Ministry.

Male' City Council is clearing the Maafannu Cemetery land to build a parking building. The work to clear the land was contracted to a private party and began in September last year.

During the rain on the third of this month and last night, Maafannu experienced severe flooding, with many houses suffering various degrees of damage from water intrusion. During last night's rain, streets were flooded, and sewage leaked from some household bathrooms, making them uninhabitable.

According to NDMA, the rainfall on the third of this month caused the most damage. Damages worth 2.2 million rufiyaa were reported that time.