Stench from sewage spill irks residents
Manama : Sewage spill on the Shaikh Hamad Road in Manama has made life miserable for residents there, for nearly a month.
Residents told DT News that the drainage system in front of their house is overflowing, with the stench getting unbearable day-by-day.
“The entire stretch of the road is smelling due to the accumulated waste and water from the drainage,” the residents said expressing their anger over the issue.
Residents also claimed that the issue has become so common that “everyone there is now getting used to it”.
They said that the issue not only poses a health risk for residents but is also fast becoming a hazard for commuters on the stretch.
“We are facing a severe problem here. The drain is frequently overflowing and something must be done before it affects us badly.”
Another resident told DT News that the continuous spill from the sewage has left the area flooded with effluents “we cannot even open our windows”.
“We really urge the officials to come up with a permanent and immediate solution.”
The real culprits?
According to Mazen Ahmad Al-Omran, Vice Chairman of Capital Municipal Council, the real culprits here are the restaurants.
Restaurants in the area, according to him, are discharging dirty oil into the system, which ends up blocking it and causing the drain to overflow.
Citing recent inspections conducted in areas including Shaikh Hamad Road and Shaikh Abdullah Avenue, he said, “Problems like this don’t arise in any part of the Kingdom but in Manama.”
“There are too many restaurants in those areas, and those people are draining dirty oil into the sewage,” he pointed out adding: “Restaurants there don’t have separate oil
interceptors.”
He, however, said that the authority hasn’t received any complaints regarding the issue from the residents recently.
But he agreed to receive a few complaints in the past, which has been rectified.
“We received a few complaints in the past, which has been solved with the help of the ministry of works and the Undersecretary of the drainage system,” he said.
Hefty fines on way
Referring to the current issue, he said: “I will definitely make sure that the drainage issue is rectified in that area.”
“With the revamping of the Souq project, we are creating a better system making it mandatory for all the restaurants in the capital to have a separate area to drain the oil,” he said.
“If the rules are not followed the restaurant will be charged with a huge penalty fee,” Al-Omran warned
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