Families sleep rough after home electricity supply is cut

Dozens of young families are sleeping in sweltering heat after the electricity supply to their homes was cut.

A Sudanese woman with a three-month-old child and at least 100 other expatriates in the Mushrif area of Abu Dhabi have been without power since last week.

"I can't sleep here now, so I sleep at work and my wife and baby go to a friend's house," said Maher Hassan Hussain, an Iraqi. "I have been looking for a new home but I can't find one."

According to the local power company, the buildings without electricity are all owned by a UAE national who rented it out to an expatriate, who in turn sub-let the premises.

Residents were sent a warning letter ten days before power was cut, but those who spoke to Gulf News said they should have been given more time.

Residents said the villas hit by the blackout each contain at least 15 families, with many of them housing babies and infants. Their power supply was cut because the buildings are due to be demolished later this year.

"For days I have had no water and no electricity. What am I to do? It's very hot here," said Umm Rayan, from Sudan.

Residents said six villas are without power, but a spokesman from Abu Dhabi Distribution Company said the actual figure was 12.