By MOHAMMED AL A’ALI
Published: 19th September 2007
AN elderly Bahraini and his family are facing eviction because they are allegedly refusing to leave their crumbling house so it can be torn down and rebuilt.
The house in Ma’ameer was fast-tracked through a national scheme to renovate dilapidated buildings because it is so dangerous to live in.
However, owner Haji Hussain Matrook is reportedly refusing to budge because he does not like the designs of his new house – even though parts of his current house have collapsed several times.
He lives in the house with his wife and 16 other members of his family, but they are allegedly refusing to choose between 10 different designs put forward for their new house.
By MOHAMMED AL A’ALI
Published: 19th September 2007
AN elderly Bahraini and his family are facing eviction because they are allegedly refusing to leave their crumbling house so it can be torn down and rebuilt.
The house in Ma’ameer was fast-tracked through a national scheme to renovate dilapidated buildings because it is so dangerous to live in.
However, owner Haji Hussain Matrook is reportedly refusing to budge because he does not like the designs of his new house – even though parts of his current house have collapsed several times.
He lives in the house with his wife and 16 other members of his family, but they are allegedly refusing to choose between 10 different designs put forward for their new house.
The new house would include six rooms and be built by the Works and Housing Ministry as part of His Majesty King Hamad’s Scheme for Dilapidated Homes.
However, the family is said to be demanding more rooms – even though their new house already includes one more than those provided to other beneficiaries in the scheme.
“Everything is ready and the family should move into rented flats, which we will pay for, so we can start rebuilding the house,” said Central Municipal Council towns and villages development committee chairman Adel Al Sitri.
“The family can’t stay in the house any second longer because it is falling apart.
“Staying longer means those living there are in real danger because it could all collapse at once.
“Mr Al Matrook has been included in the scheme as an exception due to the size of his family, although he owns a plot of land besides his house, which means his family shouldn’t have been included in the scheme in the first place.
“His children have good jobs and this means the family has a good source of income, but we had the house urgently included because it is risky living in it.”
He said the family had been included in the scheme in a record time of two months because of the poor condition of their home.
The council is now forwarding the case to the Public Prosecution in the hope of getting an eviction order.
“They want more rooms, despite us giving them six instead of the maximum of five, and by law we are only obliged to help Mr Al Matrook and his wife and young children,” added Mr Al Sitri.
“His older children are all working and capable of handling their responsibilities.
“Now, with the family refusing, the council has asked the Central Municipality to take legal action and by the end of the week Mr Al Matrook will be taken to the Public Prosecution.
“We wanted things to be solved peacefully, but it seems Mr Al Matrook is thinking differently.
“In the end the house will be knocked down – either by a court decision or with his consent.
“Whether he gets his new house or not, that’s not important to us anymore.
“The most important thing is that this unsafe house gets knocked down to ensure that his family are protected, whether they like it or not.
“We have decided to name Mr Al Matrook because we want to distance ourselves from anything that could happen in the future. “If the house collapses, people should not blame us.”
alaali@gdn.com.bh
