International City developer Nakheel has stated that it is working with authorities to preserve the enclave from degenerating into a virtual labour camp.
"We do believe that leasing to bachelors needs to be managed and controlled for the best interests of the community," a company spokesperson said.
The statement comes in the wake of an XPRESS report on the sorry state of International City, with irate residents coming down heavily on the developer for not enforcing community rules in the "planned" township.
Frustration is rife due to constant irritations brought about by the influx of thousands of bachelors into the freehold zone. Furious residents have coined unflattering epithets for it — "Slum City," "Bachelors' City", or "Sonapur 2". "In the initial days someone from Nakheel used to visit the apartments to take note of how many people resided in one flat. But now no one cares," a resident said.
Not family-friendly
"No one is against labourers living in the city," another resident-investor said. "But they must follow community rules. I invested in this property as I was given dreams of a planned residency, but all that is left is the sewage." He added that his daughter has been "harassed" and refuses to go out of the house unaccompanied as she is "stared or whistled at".
Nasir, another resident, said: "I still love the concept of this residential area, but I am under pressure to move out. I see labourers staring at families… trucks parked all over the place. I have complained to Nakheel many times. They said their inspectors have visited the apartments, but they did not find anyone there."
Nakheel owns and leases around 100 buildings in International City out of over 400 buildings in the enclave next to the popular Dragon Mart. "These buildings are scattered over the community. Currently, there is no zoning defined for bachelors or families," the company spokesperson said.
While residents are happy about the overall development, they complain that the township is no longer family-friendly.
"We acknowledge this issue and are aware of it. Nakheel is in contact with the management of Trakhees, the authority, and is working together with them to resolve the issue," the spokesperson said. Trakhees, formed in 2008, is the engineering, health and safety licensing and compliance arm of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation. The spokesperson added: "Nakheel relies on the authorities to enforce regulations. Together with them, these issues have been addressed and we are following up on them. As for illegal parking of trucks and buses we have communicated the matter to police — to fine them."
However, a resident said any crackdown on bachelors misses the point: "Affordable housing is not available in the UAE and something needs to be done about this. These poor people cannot live far away since most of them don't have the money to opt for buses, let alone cars, and hence have to be housed where they are readily accessible to the companies."
(C) Gulf News
No comments:
Post a Comment