Dubai: Hundreds of Jumeirah Village Triangle (JVT) residents on Wednesday petitioned their developer, Nakheel, who, they claim, has “abandoned” them and left the community unsafe with many unfinished construction projects that are “accidents waiting to happen”.
British expatriate Joe Batt, a villa owner, along with other residents, went to the Nakheel office on Wednesday to present an online petition to “encourage Nakheel to live up to their side of the deal” of making JVT what it should be as per plan.
More than 330 JVT residents signed the petition and presented lots of photographic evidence of perennial problems in the community such as open electrical boxes, open manhole covers, infestation of insects, building rubble, and an unfinished man-made lake, among others.
“We were promised nice and safe landscaping, safe areas for children and families to live in. And when they actually finished the [main projects], they left it looking like a slum,” Batt told Gulf News.
“They’re supposed to have finished years ago but they’re doing nothing about it. I think it’s a disgrace. It’s just been abandoned by Nakheel, that’s the impression I get.”
Batt personally went around his district and photographed electricity boxes that were falling off walls and many other concerns.
“They’re completely uncovered and children could jump and put their hands in and get electrocuted. There are pipes sticking out of the ground. There are metal railings all over the place. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
South African resident Bee, who has been in JVT for three years, said everyone’s problem is the lack of proper street names in JVT and the unfinished road exits connecting JVT with the Springs.
“How difficult is it to put a street sign? Imagine how many utility people come in and taxis getting lost.”
Bee said construction in the surrounding area has disrupted electricity and water services in her home twice.
On a separate occasion last year, her electricity box blew off because water in the pipes from the bathroom upstairs leaked into the box on the ground floor. This was due to poor construction, she said.
Fereshteh, an Iranian owner of a two-bedroom townhouse, said besides the poor quality of construction, a pesky problem persists — cockroaches and insects everywhere.
Fereshteh, who has a 22-month-old baby, said they can’t open the windows at night because of the cockroaches flying around and trying to get in. The roaches come from the park and no pest control has so far worked. Other residents reported rats as well.
But the biggest problem, everyone agreed, was the lack of security.
“We’ve heard from our neighbours of random people just jumping over the fence. I’m constantly scared that somebody can just break into our home,” Poornima, an Indian mother-of-two, said.
A German family’s home in District 8 was broken into in February. Cash, house and car keys were taken. In their front yard, the burglars switched their car with a stolen car from another district. Both cars were left in JVT and recovered by police.
The incident happened six months after Nakheel promised to tighten security in the area by fencing the community and installing access control systems at each entrance/exit. Nothing has materialised so far.
When contacted by Gulf News, a spokesperson from Nakheel said they continue to bring more services and facilities to their communities as part of their ongoing commitment to enhancing and improving their existing developments.
“We acknowledge some of the concerns of the community. Some of the infrastructure work is delayed for reasons beyond our control as a master developer due to the involvement of third parties,” he said.
“Works are currently in progress to enhance the security level within the community. These include fencing as well as the installation of gatehouses for access control, anticipated to be completed within six months.”
The spokesperson said they have recently made maintenance agreements for playgrounds and landscaping to fix the problems. “Additionally, designs are in progress for the installation of a comprehensive array of directional signage, expected to be installed within the next eight months.”
