Clinic plan is cleared

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI
MANAMA
A BAHRAINI doctor got the go-ahead to expand his clinic yesterday, despite three rejections by the former Manama Municipal Council. The new council voted unanimously in favour of permitting Dr Faisal Al Mahroos to add an extra half-storey to the clinic, as part of plans to turn it into a state-of-the-art diabetes centre.
But the councillors ordered him to instal opaque glass throughout the entire building, to
protect the privacy of neighbours.
Former Municipalities and Agriculture Minister and current Shura Council chairman Ali Saleh Al Saleh had instructed councillors to study the issue as a special case in November, after twice rejecting it.
Dr Al Mahroos received support from former area councillor and newly elected MP Sayed Jameel Kadhim, who urged his colleagues to reconsider.
However, he was absent during voting and the majority of councillors
voted against the doctor's appeal at the time.
The doctor has been trying to turn his four-and-a-half-storey clinic in Zinj into a five-storey clinic.
The council had already given him permission once before to increase the height to its existing four-and-a-half storeys, although zoning for the area limits buildings to three storeys.
Former councillors also ordered the doctor to instal opaque glass in his building, after neighbours informed the council they were worried about strangers peering into their homes.
Committee chairman and area councillor Abdulmajeed Al Sebea'a, whose committee studied the request, said new councillors had no intention of hindering the doctor, because his project was beneficial to the area.
"I have heard the former council has received complaints from the doctor's neighbours that his clinic is already towering over their houses and buildings," he said.
"I don't think that adding half-a-storey will make a difference, if the building is already higher than the rest.
"After investigating the case, I found that only two neighbours are complaining.
"Their concerns were genuine, but two aren't enough to stop a huge project. In the end, my job as area councillor is to ensure everyone is happy."
Mr Al Sebea'a - who is the engineer who originally came up with the drawings for the building - said it was already five-storeys on one side, which is near the residents, while the part in which the expansion is asked for, is near the main road.
"Dr Al Mahroos is a well-known diabetes doctor, who is trying to develop the services he provides to patients," he said.
"He has told me that he was planning to buy new hi-tech equipment, but had no place to instal it, so this addition to the building would help him."
"I regret the hassle Dr Al Mahroos has gone through over the past year, but this year is different and I hope he is happy now, after getting his permit.
Dr Al Mahroos was not available for comment.