The Garbage Waste Land: Maldives Swimming Track

                         Guess where the above pictures are taken from. Well! I’m sure most of you will get it right, at least one of the pictures surely. Yes! the one to your right is from Male’ T-Jetty and the one on your left is from the very place most of us go for swimming with our families. No April fools! it’s not Artificial Beach. It’s actually our swimming track near the dharubaruge area. See how gross it is filled with petrol, empty bottles, plastic bags, shoes, condoms & god knows what people throw to our beautiful sea.

                      
                        Really you wouldn't believe how dull & mundane most countries sea looks like (see above), believe me it’s really crappy looking like some murky mud flood. Maldivians need to know how fortunate they are to have such a beautiful place to live in. How wonderful their sea is with so many beautiful bluish, greenish colors with lagoons, huge coral reefs and enormous types of fish and other bio diverse species. But it’s sad most of us don’t acknowledge that factor. Just look at our swimming track area there so many garbage there that I’m not sure if its safe to even go for a swim there. The water flow there is somehow not so good with the big tripod rocks blocking the passage on low tides and next to there is a boat yard where they pump petrol and service those boats. I’m sure Oil spills will flood in to where we swim. Also did you know the so-called treated sewage is spilled near that area. But don’t feel so healthy that its treated, this is Maldives we are speaking and everything is only half done. I remember once hearing from our news not to eat fish caught from near that area. So seriously people do you really wanna go and swim there and god forbid get some bad disease.

                       If you’re not that aware of the fact maybe its time you do and share this with everyone. Also apart from all those it doesn’t help that we the people dump so many things there it’s so filthy and disgusting to swim there. For crying out loud small kids from primary go to learn to swim there and what do they find condoms and women’s tampons. Ever since the Coast Guards stopped or took a long break from cleaning the jetty areas of our sea, the amount of waste has been getting so much its troubling and disgusting to look into the sea, mostly near the local Market and the Fish Market Area. The look which once our ocean gave us so much pleasure in looking has turned to a filthy and gruesome wasteland. Our government needs to put more effort in to cleaning these places regularly for at least public health reasons and we as the people need not throw so much stuff like these non-biodegradable plastic bags (takes 100 years to get disposed) which are so harmful to our coral reefs & the sea creatures. (Birds, Turtles, Fishes and Corals die trapped by these plastic bags)

                       Also It’s not only the swimming tracks we have to be aware of. Our whole ocean as a whole, cause it’s what makes Maldives so beautiful and unique. Maldivians be proud & grateful of the natural beauty god gifted our nation. So if we don’t protect  try to preserve our islands natural beauty people who will, so let’s take a stand and take some action as an individual to never throw anything in to our beautiful sea.
                                                    Action Speaks Louder Than Words