Plan to clear garages from Arad housing area

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Garages and industrial workshops scattered through Arad’s residential streets would be moved to designated industrial areas under an urgent proposal submitted by MP Hamad Al Doy.

The move calls for all such sites to be taken out of the neighbourhood and relocated to purpose-built zones outside housing districts, in co-ordination with the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the relevant environmental bodies.

In his submission, Al Doy says that workshops have spread through the residential area over many years and that their presence inside the housing blocks now requires clear action from the concerned ministries.

Proposal

The proposal points to industrial areas already equipped with services and infrastructure that could receive these garages and workshops.

He reports that residents have faced constant noise and strong smells from the workshops, along with pollution and poor handling of oils and paints, which has affected living conditions and the general environment in Arad.

The text also links the activity of the garages to traffic problems, with streets in the district becoming clogged as vehicles are parked and repaired on the roads and in spaces originally marked out for residents.

According to Al Doy, some workshops have in practice been turned into accommodation for workers and single men, in breach of safety rules and housing conditions, and this is described as creating health and security risks for nearby families.

Sites

The document maintains that keeping such workshops in the middle of residential areas is no longer acceptable given the presence of alternative industrial sites.

The proposal states that moving the workshops to suitable locations would improve living conditions in Arad, keep its residential character and ensure that industrial activity is carried out in a controlled way that does not harm people living in the district.