Private Rubbish Dumps (PRD) - Sighting 2

This PRD is located in Kalhuhuraa magu near Okam (T-Centaru goalhi). It was first sighted 2 days back i.e on 18th July 2007. Below I'm going to keep count of how many days it remains:

Sighted: 18th July 2007
Still intact on: 20th July 2007

Private Rubbish Dumps (PRD) - Sighting 1

This was sighted in front of Housing and Infrastructure Redevelopment unit on Majeedheemagu (18th July 2007). The box consist of mainly rotting kitchen leftovers. Hopefully it will be soon spotted and removed by Henveyru Avashu office.

Private Rubbish Dumps (PRD)

I'm going to post pictures of "private rubbish dumps" in Maldives and then keep watching to see how long the rubbish is kept there. I will also try to inform the relevant authorities about these potentially epidemic spots. I would suggest readers to contact authorities regarding these highlighted spots. Readers may also send their PRD sightings to my email, mustharshid [at] gmail dot com.

Couple of dustbins would only cost a few hundred Ruffiyas

Couple of dustbins would only cost a few hundred Ruffiyas. A cleaner would cost hundreds of thousand Ruffiyas. Let’s ponder on that.

I'll use Villingilli beach, the area between ferry terminal and police station, for this example. If bins are to be installed, about 5 large bin would suffice. That's about 1 bin per hundred feet. To clean up this 500 x 80 feet area, at least 5 cleaners would be required.

Lets compare the cost.

5 bins x Rf 1000 = Rf 5000.00
5 cleaners x 1750 x 12 months = 105,000.00

That's simple calculation. Could someone convey this information to Ministry of Finance, please? Thanks.

Clean Ward, Our Ward

This is the banner I talked about in the previous post.

"saafu avah, aharumenge avah"

"saafu avah, aharumenge avah" (roughly translated as - clean town, my town) is displayed at the end of Sosunmagu. I wonder what it would achieve. People are heedless about what it means and it's not even a catchy phrase. Probably most people would think it's an excuse to "donate" money to a crony (those who made the slogan and banner) in the name of campaigning for a clean town, inline with some government policies - after all it doesn’t serve any purpose!

I'll try to get a picture of the banner inshaAllaah.

Note: I've posted a picture of the banner - see it here.

Rubbish bag on bike

While parking my bike, I saw another bike with a bag of rubbish on its. Probably another person like me, I thought. He would have hated throwing the bag on the road, but couldn't find a bin and eventually decided to leave it on the bike - to be discarded later or in the hope that a curious person (thief?) would check the bag and decide to throw it away (probably to the road?) after finding that it's a bag full of rubbish.

What could more bins (in Maldives) achieve?

If we attempt to measure the cleanliness of Maldives using our neighboring countries as a yard stick, anybody would agree that cleanliness of Maldives is exceptional. But if we compare ourselves with some other countries like Singapore, we are at the bottom of the list. Yeah, I know some of you would say that we shouldn’t compare ourselves with the heavyweight’s likes of Singapore. But, why should we stop when excellence is achievable and in reach?

Maldivians are a people who naturally love cleanliness. This is apparent if we look at our islands communities. People love cleaning. I'd say we have cleanliness in our genes. If a people who have such an advantage attempts to reach the top of the cleanliness ladder, there is no doubt that the goal will be easier to achieve.

Going back to the topic, I'll try to list down what could be achieved with more bins - you are at liberty to disagree.

1. There are a lot of people like myself who are reluctant to throw rubbish on the floor. They will be happy.
2. Children will learn the good habit of using rubbish bins.
3. Less money could be spent on cleaning public places. I'm sure the government spends a fortune on cleaning places such as Villingilli.
4. Maldives would be cleaner.
5. Maldives could beat Singapore in cleanliness.

I'll try to list more as it comes to my mind.

Cleaning, Cleaning and More Cleaning

Few days back I wrote about how happy I was to see the harbor area being cleaned (check A Pleasant Sight). And today I saw how much rubbish has been thrown into the sea in the same area which was cleaned. As I sad, it could be the dhonis in the area or the vessel carry rubbish to Thilafushi.

Next to a ferry dhoni

How Many Bins in IGMH?

I made a visit to IGM Hospital today - the only government hospital in Male'. While there, my wife needed something to drink and I bought a packet of milk from a shop just outside IGMH. I searched for a rubbish bin to throw away the wrapping on the straw of the milk packet. I couldn't find any in the vicinity of the hospital (see picture) - which is nothing strange given the fact that I'm talking about Maldives. I hate throwing away rubbish on the floor - hence kept searching for a bin. Fortunately I found one on the right side of the entrance, behind the token machine. Alhamdulillaah.

Entrance to IGM Hospital.

While walking towards the doctor’s room, I kept searching for another bin - there was none! After my wife finished the milk packet, I had the choice of throwing away the empty packet on the floor of hospital which already had some empty packets of supari. I assure you that nobody would find it strange if I throw it on the floor. The other choice is to carry it with me until I find an appropriate place to discard it – that would be probably the dustbin at my home.

Waiting with the empty packet.

I waited until my appointment, fiddling with the empty cold packet. Fortunately I found a waste bin in the doctor's room which the good doctor allowed me to use.

Probably there are waste baskets near each of the four token machines. Hence I conclude 4 publicly accessible waste bins in IGMH.

An Example

Our office building is kept very clean by it's landlord. I commend him for keeping the public area of the building spotlessly clean. I love the way he has kept a waste bin near the entrance for all visitors and occupants to use. Thank you so much landlord.

A Pleasant Sight

What a pleasant sight! While reaching Male' ferry terminal, coming from Villingilli, I saw a small boat with 2 crew trying to scoop garbage from the harbour area. They had a full boat load of rubbish. But who are the culprits dumping rubbish into the sea? Definitely some comes from the boats operating in the area. Most people who work on those boats are heedless about the negative effect of their activities. And a lot of those rubbish are dropped into the lagoon by Ufuli and those dumpers which carry garbage to Thilafushi. Can't they be a bit more careful and considerate?

Start the Campaign

I'm utterly frustrated with Maldivian authorities about not being able to keep waste bins in public areas around the Maldives.

I would love not to throw away wrappers onto the floor after having a chewing gum. I would want not to do the same with a ferry ticket after coming back from Villingili. But the authorities are forcing me to throw rubbish all over the city by not providing enough dustbins. They talk about discarding rubbish properly, on TV and radio. They are very fond of "clean Maldives" campaign - "reethi dhivehi raahje, saafu dhivehi raahje" blah!

Go to the beach of Villingili where hundreds of people gather during weekends for picnic - there is not a single rubbish bin there. After a weekend, the whole area smells of rotting food which you could see everywhere.

Help me guys, to bring this issues to the attention of relevant authorities. Thanks for reading.