The winner of Star TV show “Voice of India 2007”, singing competition held by India’s Star Plus Channel, Ishmeet Singh died in Maldives on Tuesday evening.

Officials from the Chaaya Dhonveli Beach Resort where he was staying said that Ishmeeth had drowned between 5:15pm and 5:20pm while in the swimming pool of the resort.

“He went into the swimming pool with a couple of his friends this afternoon,” Marlon Robert, the Assistant Manager of the Resort, said. “None of them knew how to swim so he was using the baby (shallow) swimming pool. Since he didn’t know how to swim we had advised him not to use the big pool. Somehow or other he ended up in the big pool. When he couldn’t get out of it his friends apparently went looking for help.”

According to the Maldives Police Service, Ishmeeth’s body had been immediately brought to the ADK Hospital in Male’ after the incident. The doctor who had attended to him said that the cause of death seemed to be by drowning. Police said that their investigations were now proceeding.

Arrangements are underway to transport Ishmeeth’s body back to India, sources say.

The 19-year-old singer had arrived in Maldives Tuesday morning to take part in a show being held in Male’, the capital city, by his contracting music company. The show was planned to be held during this weekend.

Supporters of the singer voted heavily for him from Punjab during the finals of the contest. Even though Harshit led the votes tally in most regions of the country, the final count went in Ishmeet’s favour due to heavy voting from Punjab.

Ishmeet had won the ‘Voice of India’ singing contest held on November 26, 2007, pipping his closest rival Harshit from Uttar Pradesh in a keen contest. He was given the winner’s trophy by melody queen Lata Mangeshkar.

COLOMBO (AFP) — The Indian Ocean island of the Maldives plans to open 11 new islands to foreign investors to develop upmarket tourist resorts, an official said Wednesday.

The new resorts, some to be built on reclaimed land, will add to the 33 resorts islands currently under development, the island’s Planning Ministry executive director Mohamed Shareef told AFP by telephone.

“The government wants to build resorts on the outskirts of some of the highly populated islands, to bring tourism development closer to the local communities,” Shareef said.

Potential investors also win the right to 100 hectares of coral reef, from which they can reclaim up to 15 hectares for additional resort land.

Shareef said the concept aimed to create jobs for local communities, allowing them to commute daily to work. Expatriate workers from Asia and Europe currently take up over half of the jobs on each resort.

Tenders for the new “resort reef” islands are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, Shareef said.

In 2006, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s government leased 35 islands to foreign and local investors for resort development. Only two of those are currently in operation.

The government is also building 10 new regional airports to compliment the booming resort development and allow locals to commute quickly between the chain of 1,192 islands.

About 700 kilometres (435 miles) southwest of Sri Lanka, Maldives is a magnet for upmarket tourists, where guests pay up to 14,500 dollars a night to scuba dive and sleep in wooden cabins built over turquoise blue waters.

Tourism accounts for over a third of Maldives’ economy of just under a billion dollars.

It has enabled the nation of 369,000 people, mainly Sunni Muslims, to emerge as the richest in South Asia, with a per capita income of 3,400 dollars.

A Blue Panorama flight made history as it became the first international flight to land at Gan Airport in Addu - the southernmost atoll of the Maldives. Gan Airport has long been a busy regional airport in the country, but this is the first time it has played host to an international flight.

Seventy one tourists travelling from Milan to Addu’s newly opened resort island of Herathera received a heart-warming welcome from the locals at Gan International Airport. The landing of this Blue Panorama flight in Addu marks the inauguration of Gan airport as the country’s second international airport. Thus far Malé International Airport at Hulhule Island has been the only international airport in the country.

Veligandu Island Resort reopened on December 23, 2007. This resort named after its spectacular, long strip of sandy beach was closed for renovation in May this year. According the General Manager Mr Fathulla Ibrahim the 146 bed resort is now reopen with a number of new facilities and services that were not available before.

The arrival of 84 tourists in the afternoon marked the opening of the refurbished Veligandu Island Resort.

Veligandu is situated in Rasdhoo Atoll in North Ari Atoll, about 51 km from Male International Airport.

Veligandu Island Resort Photos

Veligandu Island Resort
North Ari Atoll
Telephone: (960) 666 0519
Facsimilie:  (960) 666 0648
Email: reservations@veliganduisland.com
Website: www.veliganduisland.com

Maldives a longtime favorite destination for honeymooners around the world is named ‘World’s Most Romantic Destination’ at the 2007 World Travel Awards 14th Annual Gala Ceremony held on the islands of Turks & Caicos, Caribbean, on December 12, 2007.

In addition Maldives won several awards in the Indian Ocean’s category:

• Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination - Maldives
• Indian Ocean’s Leading Dive Destination - Maldives
• Indian Ocean’s Leading Diving Resort - Angsana Resort & Spa Maldives
• Indian Ocean’s Leading Resort - Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa
• Indian Ocean’s Leading Spa Resort - Huvafen Fushi Maldives
• Indian Ocean’s Leading Tourist & Convention Bureau - Maldives Tourism Promotion Board
• Indian Ocean’s Leading Travel Agency - Inner Maldives Holidays
• Indian Ocean’s Leading Villa - Baros Residence, Baros Maldives

The global winners of the World Travel Awards for 2007 were announced at a star-studded ceremony on the island of Providenciales, from votes cast by 167,000 tourism professionals and agents who were asked to vote. Next year’s voting register is likely to be even greater, due to the unprecedented levels of interest and expectation.

Hailed as the ‘Oscars of the travel industry’, World Travel Awards have been attracting media attention from all corners of the globe.