City overrun with illegal, shaky houses
Manama : Most of the houses in the capital city of the Kingdom are either a ramshackle or illegally built, said a study made by the DTNews.
Because of the severe housing problem in the city, people including the expats are mostly driven to those kind of houses, said the study yesterday.
Most of the building owners construct extra rooms on terraces to accommodate more tenants. Those additions are illegal and the safety measures have been sparse. More than one family is usually crammed into such shaky houses, which have been furtively built on the edges of terraces blinding the eyes of the authorities, said the study.
A resident living in one of such crude houses on road 407 said, “We have been here for two months but our neighbours have been living in those shanties for years with children. We know the houses are illegally built but we are without much options as housing takes all the money from us.”
A building on 411 is at the risk of falling down any time, its foundation being ruined for a long time. The house is still in one piece because the tenants have been supporting it with hollow bricks. It has been rented to a few expat labourers.
Still another on 523 is much worse. Thin pieces of plywood have been used for walls, and those tiny huts have also been given to families for rent.
The study said that eight out of 10 houses falling apart are such shanties constructed illegally.
Responding to the situation, Mohammed Ali Alkhozaae, Chairman of Capital Municipal Council, said that the issue is still important before the council, but lack of complaints from the tenants are preventing us from taking actions against the owners.
Jassim Redha, General Secretary of Capital Municipal Council, said a few such issues have come before us and we have sent them notices. At the same time, there are houses for which we have given permission to make additions, but only in the purview of the existing rules. We have also given clear instructions on the number of tenants to be allowed in each such house, said Jassim Redha.
He told DT News that further investigations into such illegal constructions would only help the council to study more on the issue and initiate legal steps.
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