AN urgent proposal to transfer the responsibility of restoring homes in old neighbourhoods in Muharraq from the Housing Ministry to the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) was submitted yesterday.
The proposal by five MPs is spearheaded by Bahrainisation Committee chairman Ebrahim Al Nefaei who said that the Housing Ministry’s plan was announced around a decade ago without anything being actually done.
The neighbourhoods that include Bin Hindi, Amamra and Al Hayak are more than two centuries old.
A number of those neighbourhoods are already part of the Muharraq Pearling Path recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2012.
“We understand the complexity of the situation regarding homes in old Muharraq neighbourhoods as a witness to history and ensuring they don’t get knocked down or destroyed, but it is not an excuse not to do anything to restore them,” said Mr Al Nefaei.
“It was in 2014 when the Housing Ministry announced the project to modernise, revamp and renovate the homes in line with traditional architect and until today they are still trying to figure things out,” he added.
“Hundreds of people who have left to other areas across the country want to return to their homes but they can’t as many are in an appalling condition.
“There are many residents who are refusing to leave even though their homes are crumbling.”
He said the Housing Ministry needs to acknowledge that the restoration project is not amongst its priorities and hand over the project to Baca.
“Anything that Baca has so far handled is amazing and within just around 16 years many projects have attained world recognition,” said Mr Al Nefaei.
“Its achievements didn’t come with excuses and it found solutions in the toughest of scenarios,” he added.
“So, Baca is more capable of salvaging this project than the Housing Ministry, which is not much concerned or bothered about the situation.”
He added that some homes were extremely dangerous and needed to be knocked down and rebuilt.
“Otherwise most of the homes can be maintained to former status.”
The proposal will be urgently referred to the Cabinet by National Assembly and Parliament Speaker Fouzia Zainal since sessions have ended.
Mr Al Nefaei’s Muharraq Governorate constituency two covers most of the old neighbourhoods in Muharraq.
Muharraq Municipal Council vice-chairman and area councillor Hassan Al Doy said the issue will be urgently debated during today’s council meeting.
Under the Constitution, MPs are still public representatives until a replacement is elected or they continue normally with re-election.
Parliament and Municipal elections will be held later this year.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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