Unlicensed demolition brings traffic to a standstill in Bahrain

Manama : Rush hour traffic in many parts of the Shaikh Salman Highway, near Sehla, slowed to a crawl yesterday, as thick dust carried by winds from an unauthorised demolition site blanketed the highway completely.

The incident caused congestion up to the section of the highway near the historic Shaikh Aziz Mosque.

Commuters told DT News that the congestion was caused by the demolition of the Abdul-Jabbar Al Kooheji building in Sehla which started early in the morning and continued unabated until officials at the Capital General Secretariat were alerted to the incident.

The demolition, which was later confirmed by the officials as unauthorised, continued until early afternoon as thick black dust blanketed the areas. The works were force stopped by the inspectors at the Capital General Secretariat with the help of police.

Abdul-Jabbar Al Kooheji building, previously used as a showroom and a warehouse, was abandoned after a devastating fire destroyed it back in 1997.

In a press statement released following the incident, the Secretariat told reporters that it had stopped the demolition, as it “was not authorised”.

“The unauthorised work was stopped by the secretariat’s inspectors, in coordination with Interior Ministry officials,” the statement read.

The statement also said that the owner of the building failed to obtain necessary permits from the authority and to cordon off the area, before starting the demolition.

Explaining the need to comply with the laws and regulations, the Secretariat, in its statement, urged all to carry out such actions only after obtaining necessary permits from the authority in accordance with Article 1 of the executive regulations of the Legislative Decree No. (13) of 1977.

Interior Ministry later said in a statement: “The traffic flow on Shaikh Salman Highway near South Sehla was restored after the demolition of a building was stopped”.