Group causes damage to Hulhumale' reef

A case where some people have removed parts of the reef and damaged the Hulhumale' reef has surfaced.

The damages were done during sunset when the water had receded from the beach, to the eastern reef at Hulhumale' Phase 1, where the beach is the cleanest on the island, catering to a sizable number of guesthouses .

A lot of people had gone onto the reef at the time the tide was really low.

An anonymous source who had seen the incident told Mihaaru News that around six people had begun taking rocks and corals from the reef and began hitting it with pickaxes along a certain stretch of the reef.

"It might be people who provide water sports services. It seems they had cut through the reef in order to create a path to ride out to sea on jet skis and the like," said the anonymous source.

As per the source, they had used metal and other implements to damage the reef and create a path out to sea.

The source said that taking parts of the reef in order to make space for water sports vessels is a common sight in Hulhumale'.

The source went on to say that corals along certain stretches of the beach have become aesthetically better and yet, people keep damaging it.

No response has been given by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) upon asking them about the matter.

However, an Environment Ministry official has said that they will bring this matter to the attention of the Environmental Regulatory Authority (ERA) and that the authority will properly look into it.

While the issue of damaging corals and creating wide canals has surfaced, HDC has made it so that no marine vessel can enter the waters in the Hulhumale' Channel Park bridge that connects Hulhumale' Phase 1 and Phase 2. Even when people were swimming there, jet skis are known to go past at a blistering and dangerous pace.

As per the statement by HDC regarding the closure of Channel Park for marine vessels, the area is used by children and adults to swim there, with a coral restoration project also being conducted in the area.