Abu Dhabi An inspection of a residential building has revealed several illegal construction practices which the authorities are aiming to clamp down on as part of a campaign.
The inspection was part of a drive against illegal construction in residential and commercial buildings, and against overcrowded accommodation.
According to the Mun-icipal rule, the number of people living in a room should not exceed three. But when the door of a small room was opened, about ten beds — in triple-decker formation — were found and some of the Asian workers were having an afternoon sleep. The situation was same in many other rooms of the building.
The 15-storey building near Jumbo Electronics on Passport Road was inspected by officials of the Abu Dhabi Municipality, Abu Dhabi Police, Abu Dhabi Naturalisation and Residency Department, Ministry of Labour and General Directorate of Civil Defence yesterday afternoon in the presence of selected journalists. The drive will continue until January 14, the officials said. The halls and rooms had wooden partitions that could be dangerous in the event of a fire, according to the officials.
A fire in a similar building in the Tourist Club area had left two Pakistanis dead in December. The wooden partitions were blamed for the rapid spread of the fire.
"This partition is illegal. The municipality will summon the owner or the manager of the building and will issue a warning to remove the partitions and rectify all other violations within two weeks," an official said. If he or she does not respond to the warning, the matter will be referred to the court, he said.
The Immigration and Labour officials checked the identification documents of the occupants but there were no illegal residents.
Uwaidah Al Qubaisi, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Municipal Services Sector, said: "The drive is to highlight the dangerous social implications of these illegal buildings which do not adhere to the health standards."
Forced
The Asian workers said they were forced to live in cramped rooms because of a lack of housing and high rents in the capital. Mohammad Basher, 45, from Pakistan said the ten tenants together pay Dh3,500 in rent for the small room.
"I am earning Dh1,000 as a worker. How can I pay more than Dh350 for rent?"
His roommate Mohammad Esmail, from Bangladesh, said a few years ago they used to pay Dh800 for the same room.
Do you know of areas where such illegal practices are a common sight? Have you reported it to the authorities?
