Plan to ease bottlenecks

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI
SEVEN heavily congested roundabouts in Manama will be razed before the end of the year and replaced with traffic lights.New designs for routes currently connected by the roundabouts have been completed, but work will not start without approval from the Manama Municipal Council.
The Works and Housing Ministry has asked the council to prepare a report on the seven roundabouts to compare with its study before approving the project.
The roundabouts are in Salmaniya, near the Hilton Hotel, next to the Sheraton Hotel, on Government Avenue, in Ras Ruman, at The Palace hotel and Al Andalus Hotel.
"Once we approve the designs for the new routes, the ministry is expected to begin work on the project," said council technical committee vice-chairman Jaffar Al Qaidoom.
"Everyone knows that these roundabouts are irritating, because they take a lot of space and are unorganised, leading to traffic jams.
"This project will hopefully end the congestion since the ministry is carrying out this project based on an extensive study, which took into consideration everything from tardiness to accidents.
"The ministry is keen on ensuring that we are happy with their plans, which we are content with in fact, but that doesn't mean this is the end of the road, as councillors will continue supervising and monitoring work and inspecting sites.
"It is very difficult to satisfy everyone, we will look at the designs, suggest modifications to them when necessary, but the council will not take a decision without residents' feedback and recommendations on the issue."
Mr Al Qaidoom, who is also the council's public utilities and services committee vice-chairman, said residents were excited when he informed them about the plan.
"Whether it is my majlis or in other majlises, people have been complaining about these roundabouts, where they say they constantly get stuck in traffic," he said.
"The problem is that even the ambulance faces trouble getting patients into the Salmaniya Medical Complex because of traffic jams on the roundabouts in the governorate."

Home repairs plan 'flawed'

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI
A SCHEME to renovate the houses of needy families could actually force the people it is supposed to help onto the street, according to municipal councillors.That is because they may have to move out while the renovations are underway, but will not be provided with temporary accommodation or a housing allowance.
Manama Municipal Councillor Sadiq Rahma said the people most in need of help could be made homeless while the BD500,000 scheme proceeds.
"The problem is that when they drew up the scheme, which includes major renovations and remodelling, they forgot about those who will be told to move out to make way for the work," said Mr Rahma, who is also the council's technical affairs committee chairman.
"They only took minor work into consideration, which could be done in a few days.
"The council has already agreed unified colours for the houses to ensure they are distinguishable and done according to a certain pattern so no renovated or remodelled homes will be different from the rest."
The project is separate from His Majesty King Hamad's Scheme for Dilapid-ated Homes, which aims to renovate 6,000 homes in five years.
Under that scheme, families who are moved out of their home while work is carried out are given a temporary housing allowance.
However, Mr Rahma said the issue of housing allowances is not the only thing slowing down the project, which will be carried out by the Municipalities and Agriculture Ministry.
He said it had now been delayed for two years because of problems in carrying it out.
"The scheme was brought to us two years ago for revision, but we have not yet approved it," he said.
"There are numerous flaws in the scheme that we are trying to overcome.
"Whenever we think we are over, we are surprised that there are more flaws that require us to stop and look into."
None of the five municipal councils have yet approved the project in their area.

400 labourers face eviction

By RASHA AL QAHTANI
MORE than 400 Asian labourers living crammed into four villas in Adliya could soon be evicted by the Manama Municipal Council.About 60 residents signed a petition saying they could no longer tolerate so many labourers living amongst them.
Residents said the labourers were rowdy and families were nervous for their children.
Councillor Jaffar Ahmed Hassan Al Kaidoom said that he had inspected the area and seen the conditions the labourers were living in.
"There are about four to five villas, each occupied by over 100 expatriate workers," he said.
"The owners of these villas do not only illegally reside labourers in the area, but also have construction fines."
Mr Al Kaidoom said the owners had added extra rooms and floors to their villas to accommodate the labourers.
"The legislative committee of the council is currently working on special rules for Asian labourers living in the governorate," he said.
"After the conditions are set, they will be presented to the council to be approved."
Once the new terms are in place, the Asians living in the villas concerned will be evicted, he said.
Residents sent the petition to the municipal council along with a letter in April complaining that the workers were making too much noise, hanging their clothes outside in the open and causing traffic problems by parking company trucks or buses in the area.
Families said they could no longer put up with the noise and inconvenience and demanded that the council take immediate action.
"After I received the petition I went down to the area and inspected the houses myself and I agree that the living conditions are bad," said Mr Al Kaidoom,
He said that the problem was becoming more severe with the rising population of Asian labourers in the area.
Landlords probably want to make money out of the rented villas by allowing a large number of low paid labourers to live in them, said Mr Al Kaidoom.
"This however is not going to go on for much longer and we will call the landlords and tell them about the problem and tell them to evict the labourers as soon as the conditions are approved.
"We are now also sending out letters to the people who signed the petition telling them that the municipal council is working on the case."

Council row over 'special' lands...

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI
COUNCILLORS are demanding to know why no construction is being allowed on three plots of land in the Seef District.
They say the plots have not been earmarked as residential or commercial, which means they cannot be developed.
The lands have instead been designated as "special", but the Manama Municipal Council does not know why.
One councillor claimed that areas designated as "special" in the past had later been used to build privately owned properties on without permission from the council.
However, he declined to give examples.
Manama Municipality director-general Abdulkarim Hassan told councillors during a meeting that they had been set aside because they were located near Bahrain Fort, which is classified as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations.
"We haven't decided on any classification for these lands since the Information Ministry responsible for the site has told us they will be used as a part of the fort's village," he said.
"Whenever we plan to use them the council will be informed about it since they are classified as special and requires the council's consent on any plan."
However, councillors could not understand why all three plots had been classified as "special".
The council's technical committee chairman, Jaffar Al Qaidoom, said one piece of land was located near the fort, but the others were located close to residential areas.
"From what I see these two lands are surrounded by buildings, which means that they could be used for future developmental projects - or even leased out to private investors," he said.
"The land near the fort could be also used by the Information Ministry or any other organisation, with the stipulation that the buildings they construct doesn't exceed three storeys.
"Under UN rules, the fort should be visible within a specified area and I don't believe that three storeys would block people's view."
Councillor for the area, Mohammed Mansoor, said he had visited the three lands previously and found them to be away from the fort.
"It is true that one is close to the fort, but it is not that close and I am still unsure about the reason it has been classified as special," he said.
"Even if we leave this one out of our calculations, what about the two others?
"The problem is that many places are classified as special and any request to acquire them is brought to the council.
"Sometimes we refuse permission for their acquirement, but then suddenly we see them turned into a multi-storey commercial building.

Municipality losing out...

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI
RESIDENTS in Manama are losing out because thousands of dinars in taxes that should go back into improving the capital are being wrongly distributed around the country, according to municipal councillors.
They claim that municipal fees collected by the government are being pooled with those from the Central, Southern, Muharraq and Northern Governorates and used to fund projects in all five areas.
However, councillors say this violates the Municipal Law because fees collected from Manama should only be used by the Manama Municipality.
They now want to ensure that municipal fees collected from Manama are not used to finance projects elsewhere.
A report has been prepared on the issue by the council's financial, administrative and legislative affairs committee, which concluded that the Manama Municipality's revenue was being affected as a result.
The council will sit on Tuesday to vote on whether or not to retain municipal fees for Manama alone.
The council's financial, administrative and legislative affairs committee chairman, Majeed Millad Al Jazeeri, said the money could be used for projects that benefit people in the capital.
"We are speaking about thousands of dinars that are being entered into the joint municipal coffers, which also includes other municipalities besides ours," he told the GDN.
"The revenue in the joint coffers helps fund development and urbanisation projects in the country, but it comes from other fees - this is not one of them.
"We have our own projects that need financing and this money should be used for them, rather than in other areas in the Kingdom whose municipalities already have their own revenue."
Mr Al Jazeeri said he had studied the law carefully to ensure that the council's claims were genuine.
He added that councillors had already backed the demand to withhold the fees in principle, but would take the final vote on Tuesday.
"Things should be set right before the end of our term next month because new councillors will have projects in their minds and we don't want them to be stunned when they see the municipality's coffers not being up to their expectations," he said.
"This money is useful for our municipality and we hope to have it back in our coffers because other municipalities have no right to use it.
"They are not entitled to it as we are not entitled to theirs.
"They are just taking ours because our municipality has a high revenue, but if they continue to do so it will not be."
If councillors vote to retain municipal fees for use in Manama alone a letter will be sent to Municipalities and Agriculture Minister Ali Saleh Al Saleh informing him of the decision.

Garage complex plan for Juffair

By mohammed al a'ali
A NEW petrol station could be opened soon in Juffair, Manama Municipal Council members agreed yesterday.
Councillors have backed the project in principle and will take a final vote on Tuesday.
They urged the investor to allot spaces for a car services centre and a groceries store in the petrol station, for them to give it final approval.
The project has been studied by the council's technical affairs committee, which found the station to be necessary.
Committee chairman Sadiq Rahma said that Juffair was one of the fastest developing areas in the Capital Governorate, but it was missing a petrol station.
"To fuel up, people either go to Gudaibiya or Adliya, which are far from their residential area," he said.
"This is a good project since the area lacks a petrol station and from what I see I believe it would be an instant profit for the investor.
"We thought that a lone petrol station would be old fashioned and this why we have added the stipulation for the car services centre and the groceries store.
"The investor won't lose anything because those who will offer these services will be paying rent and will ensure more customers came into the station."
Mr Rahma said that the council had nothing against the project, with members offering to back it the instant the application came into their hands.
"This businessman is smart because he knew what to choose and I believe that from the first moment he stepped into the Manama Municipality for the licence, he knew he would be getting it," he said.
"Juffair is developing and this station will be an addition to the already existing services, which range from top class restaurants, hotels and coffee shops in the area.
Mr Rahma hoped that other investors would come up with innovative ideas for the area, which is now one of the crowded places in the country.
"Whether it is day or not, the place does not standstill."

Ministry rejects appeal to close busy Adliya streets

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI
A REQUEST to close off two roads connected to a busy Adliya high street has been rejected by the government.
Residents submitted petitions to the Manama Municipal Council calling for the closure of a one-way street leading to the Criminal Investigation Directorate and another that leads to Al Abraaj Restaurant.
They said that closing the roads would help reduce traffic congestion on Osama Bin Zaid Avenue, which is home to a number of shops including Al Jazira Supermarket.
The council forwarded the idea to the Works and Housing Ministry, but the ministry rejected it after reviewing traffic flow in the area. The avenue is also known as "Love Road" and is notorious for drivers who cruise up and down it in their cars.
"The road sees traffic jams throughout the day and we wanted to close the connecting streets to ensure that cars don't make turns and just keep driving straight," said area councillor Jaffar Al Qaidoom.
Mr Al Qaidoom said an average of 40 cars enter the avenue from the Ferrari Centre traffic light at one time during the day and 46 at night, according to a study by the Traffic General Directorate.
"Traffic from the Fuddruckers traffic light sees an average of 28 cars during the morning and 48 cars at night at one time," he said yesterday.
"However, in a letter Assistant Under-Secretary for Roads Essam Khalaf, said the number of cars was small and there was no need to make any improvements to the road.
"He said cars using the road to Al Abraaj during the morning are 12 cars at one time and in the evening 44, something that is not really worth the whole fuss of closing those two streets."
Mr Al Qaidoom, who is also vice-chairman of the council's technical and services and public utilities committees, said residents were still unhappy even if the ministry thought it was not important.
"Why bother to send continuous petitions if this issue was not of importance to the residents," he said.
"The ministry should reconsider its decision and take into consideration the plight of residents there, who are suffering a lot of the traffic jams and congestion all day."

New car park for Manama

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI
A NEW car park complex could soon be built in one of the most congested areas of Manama.
The seven-storey car park is the second approved by the Manama Municipal Council within a month.
It will be built near the old Al Hamra Cinema, an area in desperate need of parking space, to ease congestion, says the council's technical committee chairman Sadiq Rahma.
He welcomed the move, which follows the approval of a similar application by the Sunni Waqf (Endowment) Directorate, to build a car park in Manama's Al Fadhel neighbourhood.
Mr Rahma said that if more businesses put up car parks, then much of the congestion in Manama would be eased.
"The problem has escalated as new businesses open in Manama, while existing ones have expanded, without adequate car parks and roads being developed to meet the increase in the number of people," he said.
"People park anywhere, whether it is on the pavement or in the middle of the road, or even in places where there are 'No Parking' signs."
Mr Rahma said he did not know if the new car park would be rented out to companies or businesses in the area, but he was happy that more parking space would be available for people.
"I don't really know how much the complex will accommodate, but from the designs it will certainly take 100 cars or more, he said.
"The area is classified as a five-storey maximum building height, but this complex has been given two extra storeys as an exception, because we are trying to encourage more.
"Today, for any business or company to open, they need a car park to accommodate their employees and customers and if they don't provide that, then they don't their licences.
"They have another alternative and that's renting a piece of land and making it as a car park, but now they can rent a floor in these buildings.
Meanwhile, the council has initially backed the opening of a new women's and infertility hospital in Adliya, with the stipulation that the proprietor provides adequate car parking.

Facelift for Water Garden

By MOHAMMED AL A' ALI
MANAMA
WORK on redeveloping the Water Garden, in Salmaniya, is expected to begin by year-end.The aim is to turn the 40-year-old park into a theme attraction and natural park.
Drawings are expected to be completed before the end of next month and the designs will be presented to the Manama Municipal Council for approval.
"Development work is expected to begin at the end of the year, as work on another old park is still pushing ahead," said council technical committee chairman Sadiq Rahma.
"The Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs Ministry is carrying out the development work on both projects, under the supervision of the council.
"We are keen on having a good project, considering the place is visited by people throughout the year.
Mr Rahma said one of the biggest problems facing the park was the lack of parking space.
"Car parks there can accommodate up to 200 cars, but in a place where up to 10,000 people visit during weekends and public holidays, there should be a solution to this problem," he said.
"The two mosques nearby, Al Sadiq and Kanoo, are facing a problem there because they don't have adequate car parking space and are either using Dairy Queen car park, or the parking area behind Al Qadisiya Club.
"Car parking area near Al Sadiq's is not owned by the mosque and it could be taken away any time.
'The owner who has given the Works and Housing Ministry permission to use the land for car parking, could decide to take it away, unless bought for the mosque."
Mr Rahma said the two ponds in garden would be either renovated, or drained.
"The ponds need treatment because, over the years they have become a haven for insects and worms, including bacteria, and pose a danger to visitors," he said.
But Mr Rahma said new design would focus on greenery and drive will be to plant as much trees and flowers to make it a haven for people to enjoy.
The owner of the rides at the park has been asked to buy new ones, to meet the new standards, he said.
"The rides there are old and needs replacement," he said.
"That doesn't mean they are not liked by people, but their time has come to an end and they should be replaced with new similar ones.
"New rides could be also an addition, considering visitors are also looking for a change to the old rides they have used continuously.