Streetlight repairs to incur MVR 85 mil: Minister

Minister of Cities, Local Government and Public Works Adam Shareef Umar has said the total repairs of street lights in the residential islands will incur MVR 85 million.

The minister said in a post on X, that both Fenaka Corporation and the Utility Regulatory Authority (URA) met for discussions. The parties met for talks as it became evident that the Fenaka-extended period for council authorities to fix streetlights as per URA instructions, was insufficient.

Although Ministry of Finance is expected to issue the MVR 85 million funding Fenaka projected to fix the lights, additional discussions are expected to take place since councils may not finish repairs within the URA-demanded timeframe.

The minister stressed repairs of streetlights were crucial to ensure public safety, and noted the initiative requires both time and finance.

Shareef assured the ministry would continue to assist until council bodies resolve the repairs.

Fenaka began fixing streetlights after a youngster died from electrocution in Raa atoll Ungoofaaru recently.

URA, regarding this incident, said the street lights lacked the earth-leak circuit breaker (ELCB) and minature circuit breaker (MCB) on them - which are crucial safety equipment.

This was corraborated by Fenaka Corporation's Managing Director Muaz Mohamed Rasheed earlier.

The electrocuted victim, Hussain Atheek passed away amid treatment at Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) after initial treatment at Ungoofaaru Regional Hospital.