V L Srinivasan
Manama (Bahrain), March 7:
The demolition work of nearly 28 dilapidated and vacant buildings in Manama has reached its halfway mark, a senior official of the Manama Municipality said.
The decision to pull down the structures was taken after the roof of one such building collapsed earlier this year, killing one person and injuring another. Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister
Dr Juma Al Kaabi, who visited the house on the day, announced all such old buildings to be identified for demolition to prevent recurrence.
In an interview with DT, Inspection and Follow-up Manager in Manama Municipality Mohammed Saad Al Sehali said 12 buildings had been demolished already and the remaining 16 would be brought down soon. Almost 75 buildings had been demolished last year; most of them were at least four decades old.
“Though Manama Municipality has 70 blocks and 46,000 buildings (according to 2010 census), we are focusing on old structures located in blocks ranging from numbers 301 to 305. However, this does not imply that we are ignoring dangerous buildings in other areas,” he said.
While administrative decisions were taken with regard to some houses, officials were given court orders to demolish the others. Either the owners can demolish buildings at their cost or leave it to the Municipality.
While most owners are okay with the decision to demolish their buildings, officials are currently dealing with an owner who refused to vacate his building.
“Local authorities are helping us evict tenants and get the job done,” said Mr Al Sehali. “We appeal to the people living in old houses to inform Municipal officials about dangerous buildings for necessary action to be initiated.”
Manama (Bahrain), March 7:
The demolition work of nearly 28 dilapidated and vacant buildings in Manama has reached its halfway mark, a senior official of the Manama Municipality said.
The decision to pull down the structures was taken after the roof of one such building collapsed earlier this year, killing one person and injuring another. Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister
Dr Juma Al Kaabi, who visited the house on the day, announced all such old buildings to be identified for demolition to prevent recurrence.
In an interview with DT, Inspection and Follow-up Manager in Manama Municipality Mohammed Saad Al Sehali said 12 buildings had been demolished already and the remaining 16 would be brought down soon. Almost 75 buildings had been demolished last year; most of them were at least four decades old.
“Though Manama Municipality has 70 blocks and 46,000 buildings (according to 2010 census), we are focusing on old structures located in blocks ranging from numbers 301 to 305. However, this does not imply that we are ignoring dangerous buildings in other areas,” he said.
While administrative decisions were taken with regard to some houses, officials were given court orders to demolish the others. Either the owners can demolish buildings at their cost or leave it to the Municipality.
While most owners are okay with the decision to demolish their buildings, officials are currently dealing with an owner who refused to vacate his building.
“Local authorities are helping us evict tenants and get the job done,” said Mr Al Sehali. “We appeal to the people living in old houses to inform Municipal officials about dangerous buildings for necessary action to be initiated.”
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