Thulhaadhoo

Thulhaadhoo
Inhabited island
Aerial view of Thulhaadhoo
Thulhaadhoo Location in Maldives
Coordinates: 5°1′23″N 72°50′23″E / 5.02306°N 72.83972°E / 5.02306; 72.83972Coordinates: 5°1′23″N 72°50′23″E / 5.02306°N 72.83972°E / 5.02306; 72.83972
Country	Maldives
Administrative atoll	Baa Atoll
Distance to Malé	117.88 km (73.25 mi)
Dimensions
• Length	0.380 km (0.236 mi)
• Width	0.230 km (0.143 mi)
Population (3273)
• Total	3,273
Time zone	MST (UTC+05:00)

Old Malaafaiy wooden food cover from Thulhadhoo kept at the National Museum (Maldives)

Thulhaadhoo (Dhivehi: ތުޅާދޫ) is one of the inhabited islands of Baa Atoll. The island has been reclaimed by the government recently. The island is famous for being the only island in the Maldives doing lacquer work. It used to supply the noble families in the country, but now most of Thulhaadhoo's lacquer work is sold to tourists.^[1]

The island has one school headed by principal Ahmed Abdhulla. Thulhaadhoo's Health Centre became famous when Dr. Muhammad Owais Aziz found the first case of Swine Flu in the Maldives. There are two pre schools in Thulhaadhoo.^[2]

Thulhaadhoo Council

Current members of Thulhaadhoo Council taking oath

The island is administered by a council of five members. The current council was inaugurated in 2010. The main objectives of this council are to make sure the well being of the island's citizens and to provide the basic needs of the people. The council is seen very active in the development of the island, although critics have risen against it.

Umaira Aboobakr, who is the only Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) member in the council, which holds the majority of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) with its four members, is faced with major difficulties working with the council. The disputes within the council reached its peak, when the four MDP members took a vote in the middle of 2011 to sack Umaira claiming that "she had not attended seven council meetings in a row."^[3] A by-election was announced by the Elections Commission ^[4] of the Maldives but, later that year, The Maldivian High-Court cancelled the election and said that "the announcement on 5 October 2011 by Elections Commission for by-elections of B. Thulhaadhoo to be held on 19 November 2011, was made without fulfilling the requirements previously ordered by the High Court".^[5][6]

References