No power in Kinbindhoo for over a week

It has been over a week since the generators in Thaa atoll Kinbidhoo broke down causing a total power blackout in the island.

The Island Councilor Mohamed Naseem said on Sunday that the four generators in the island had broken down and that they had been living without electricity since the 3rd of the month. He also said that they had not been able to fix the generators still and noted that they had not received much support from the Government.

“The Island Development Committee is also in Malé to discuss the matter,” he said. “We have sent letters to all the relevant Government institutions. Honestly speaking, there is not much that the Island Office can do in a situation like this. We can only make phone calls and the Atoll Councilor has been no help.”

He said that the residents of the island were planning to hire the services of an engineer on their own to see if the broken generators could be fixed. He further said that residents were living in very sad conditions due to the prolonged blackout. Even though the school still remained open, due to the stifling heat the classes had to be conducted in the courtyard, he said.

“It’s very difficult to sleep also,” he said. “And the mosquitoes are a nuisance. Some people have pushed their beds out of the bedrooms and are sleeping in the open air areas of the house.”

The island is home to around 1200 residents and the Health Centre said that they had been forced to throw away some injections due to the blackout.

“We charge our mobile phones at the office near the Dhiraagu antenna,” the Councilor said. “There are rows of mobile phones, sometimes 12 at a time, being charged there at all times. There are around 21 shops in the island and the owners use candle light and other light sources to keep the places open at night.”

The Permanent Secretary of the Housing Ministry Ahmed Saleem said that they were working with the Disaster Management Centre to find a solution to the problem.

“We first checked to see if there was a generator available in a nearby island that could meet the requirement of Kinbindhoo,” Saleem said. “However, the islands were asking for too a high a price for them so the Ministry is facing some difficulties now.”

He however assured that they were closely monitoring the situation and that they were also going through the proposals made by the island to find a solution to the lack of power.