Calls to demolish a house, which residents say is haunted, in Hamad Town have been rejected by municipal authorities.
Northern Municipal Council technical committee chairman and Northern Governorate constituency nine (western Hamad Town) councillor Abdulla Al Qubaisi had demanded the razing of the property following ‘repeated complaints’ from residents claiming to hearing ‘strange sounds’ coming from the house.
However, Northern Municipality director-general Lamya Al Fadhala asserted that the house was abandoned and not dilapidated.
She told the council in writing that only dilapidated homes that pose a danger to residents could be demolished.
There were only three rundown properties in the constituency, she added, with the house in question not being one of them.
“We had granted permission for renovation of the house on August 18, 2016,” she said.
“The permit issued was only for renovation and not for completion of construction work.
“The house is registered to an 83-year-old Bahraini man and technical assessments have revealed that it has not been fenced yet. Construction work was done recently using new building materials.”
Mr Al Qubaisi
Mr Al Qubaisi said residents were worried that the property could be a haven for criminals as it has been left unattended for more than seven years.
“People have complained that they hear weird noises coming from the house regularly,” he said.
“It is probably being used as a hideout by individuals for illegal or criminal activities, or it could be haunted, as some of them claim.
“No one is living in the house and it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be demolished.
“Either the owner should step in, if he is alive, or his siblings must decide to complete the construction work.
“They must allay the fears of residents or else the municipal authority must find a way to knock down the property.”
Mr Al Qubaisi claimed that he has been bombarded with calls from citizens demanding action.
“I have asked them to prepare a mass petition which could be submitted to council chairman Dr Sayed Shubbar Al Wedaie,” he said.
“Even stray cats and dogs do not enter the abandoned house and if they were asked to ink their signatures on the petition, they would happily agree,” he quipped.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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