India to help in conservation of Maldives' Friday Mosque: PM Modi
Male: India will contribute to the conservation of Maldives' Friday Mosque, a unique place of worship made of coral stones, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced.
Modi made the announcement while addressing the Muslim-majority country's Parliament, The People's Majlis, on Saturday and noted that the relations between India and the Maldives were older than history.
He said India will contribute to the conservation of Maldives' Friday Mosque also known as Hukuru Miskiy.
"There is no such mosque elsewhere in the world like this historical mosque made up of coral," Modi said.
He said he was happy that the Maldives was working towards sustainable development and has become a part of the International Solar Alliance.
Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih thanked the Indian side for their offer to carry out restoration of the Friday mosque by the Archaeological Survey of India under an Indian grant, said a joint statement.
He also appreciated the recent visit of senior scientists of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and their ongoing cooperation with the Maldivian counterparts, it added.
Built in 1658, Friday Mosque is one of the oldest and most ornate mosques in the city of Male in Kaafu Atoll. The mosque was added to the tentative UNESCO World Heritage cultural list in 2008 as unique examples of sea-culture architecture.
Modi arrived in the Maldives on Saturday on his first two-day foreign visit after re-election as Prime Minister to strengthen the bilateral ties, reflecting the importance India attaches to its 'Neighbourhood First' policy.
His visit demonstrates the priority that India attaches to the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine.
The relations between India and the Maldives deteriorated after the then President Abdulla Yameen imposed emergency on February 5 last year.
Some decisions by Yameen including imposition of restrictions on work visas for Indians and signing of a new Free Trade Agreement with Beijing also did not go down well with New Delhi.
However, the ties were back on track under Solih's presidency.
China views the Maldives as key to its Maritime Silk Road project in the Indian Ocean as it has already acquired Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.
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Magisterial probe ordered into Goa nightclub fire; FIR lodged against owner, GM
Panaji (PTI): Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the fire at a nightclub which claimed 25 lives.
Speaking to PTI, Sawant said an FIR has been lodged against the owner and the general manager of the nightclub and they would be arrested.
The fire broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane after midnight. The popular party venue at Arpora village, located around 25 km from the state capital Panaji, opened last year.
CM Sawant, in a post on X, said, "I am closely reviewing the situation arising from the tragic fire incident at Arpora, in which 25 people have lost their lives and six have been injured."
"All six injured persons are in a stable condition and are receiving the best medical care. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire incident to identify the cause and fix responsibility," he said.
Speaking to PTI, Sawant said the police have registered an FIR against the owner and the general manager of the nightclub, and they would be arrested.
He said this is the first time that such an incident has happened in Goa.
A preliminary inquiry has indicated that the fire started on the first floor of the club, and due to congestion and small doors, the customers could not move out, the CM said.
"Some of them rushed to the ground floor and got trapped there," he said.
