Alcohol selling safari boat removed from Ukulhas lagoon

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The safari boat accused of alcohol sale to community has been removed from the lagoon of Ukulhas island in Alif Alif atoll, local "Mihaaru" news reported on Monday.

In a Maldives' native Dhivehi language report, "Mihaaru" stated that the move came in the wake of the islanders staging a protest last week after the island's council failed to act on their appeal to make the safari boat stop selling alcohol in the island well-known for its guesthouse tourism business.

"Mihaaru" reported that the owner removed the safari boat from Ukulhas lagoon after the media wrote about it when the safari boat failed to act on a court order to remove it from the island's lagoon.

The safari boat docked at Ukulhas for repairs after seeking permission from the council, according to "Mihaaru".

However, the council lodged a suit at the court after residents accused the safari boat of "facilitating opportunity to conduct illegal activities in the island," “Mihaaru" said, adding that subsequently, the magistrate court ordered the safari boat to remove itself from Ukulhas' lagoon within 24 hours.

"Mihaaru" said that the reason why the safari boat did not remove itself from Ukulhas lagoon immediately was because of rough weather. The court order took into account the probability of bad weather and excused the safari boat from removing itself from Ukulhas lagoon because the meteorological department had issued six "alerts" for the region containing Ukulhas, according to "Mihaaru".

When the safari boat was accused of selling alcohol to Ukulhas community, police on Monday conducted a search under a court order but reported having not found any "intoxicating" substances, "Mihaaru" reported.

The newspaper concluded its report by saying that although guesthouse tourism business is permitted, no license is given to sell alcohol to inhabited islands.