Sharjah: Sharjah authorities on Wednesday responded swiftly to an appeal by hundreds of workers, who were evicted from a building in Al Naba’ah area on Sunday, to allow them to collect their belongings.
Police officials and inspectors of Sharjah Municipality opened the building’s door for the workers from 2.30pm to 6pm on Wednesday.
The workers thanked the officials for their cooperation and said they could now find another accommodation after collecting their papers from the building.
Hundreds of workers from Egypt, Pakistan and Bangladesh were evicted on Sunday following a court ruling in a case filed by the building’s new owner.
On Tuesday, the workers had alleged that a property agent sublet the units without contracts and he failed to notify the occupants about the change of ownership. The new owner of the building, who preferred not to be named, told Gulf News that the previous owner had financial problems which led to the sale of the building.
The property agent should have informed the residents about change of ownership, he said. The new owner, however, said he himself went to the building and informed the workers of the change of ownership, warning them not to deal with the real estate agent.
The building consists of nine floors with two four-room apartments on each floor.
The residents paid rent ranging from Dh1,700 to Dh2,500 per month.
The property agent, a Bangladeshi national, rented the building from the previous owner before subletting it to the workers. Now workers say he has switched off his mobile and disappeared after collecting the rent.
“We just want our belongings and our passports,” said Adel Mahmoud, a construction worker had told Gulf News on Tuesday.
On Sunday morning, the building was evicted in the presence of municipality inspectors and police.
The workers then spent two nights sleeping on the street or under the shed of a mosque. The municipality had told Gulf News that the workers were living illegally as the area was reserved for families.
