Government moves to relocate and regulate chemical warehouses
The authorities have been under fire over failure to attend to numerous complaints.
22 Sep 2019, 9:00 AM
Hassan Mohamed
The government has decided to ban warehousing in the congested capital and enact new rules on chemical storage after the worst fire accident in recent history claimed one life and displaced more than 400 people on Friday night.
Briefing the press on Saturday afternoon, Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi said the president instructed relevant authorities at a meeting of the National Disaster Council earlier in the day to immediately commence work on relocating warehouses with hazardous or flammable chemicals away from residential areas of Malé.
A comprehensive regulation that covers classification, storage, disposal and handling of chemicals along with penalties for violations would be published this week, she said.
“Once we enact the regulation, we will have a legal basis to say ‘you can’t keep this here or do that there.’ But what we’re referring to as chemicals are really commonly used household items,” Mariya said.
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