DM warns bachelors to move out of residential areas

DM warns bachelors to move out of residential areas Staff Reporter / 7 May 2013 The long arm of the law is still catching up with the bachelors in Dubai who live in residential areas. The Dubai Municipality (DM) on Monday issued a warning to bachelors to move out of areas designated for families, indicating that it will intensify the clampdown on singletons living in residential areas. As per the municipal rules in Dubai, singletons, either unmarried or married and living away from their families, should be living in the residential buildings in the Commercial Business District or residential areas designated for them, such as Hor Al Anz, Al Muteena, Al Quoz 4 and Al Qusais 1 among others. Labourers are allowed to live only in labour accommodations in Sonapur, Al Quoz and Jebel Ali. Fines ranging from Dh1,000 to Dh50, 000 could be imposed on landlords and tenants leasing out apartments in residential areas to bachelors, depending on the size of accommodation and the number of warnings issued. Hundreds of Dubai residents have already been fined and several others have been served with eviction notices by the Buildings Department of the municipality. Those who did not relocate have faced disconnection of power and water supply as well. Shajin Ratheendran from India, who lives in Al Nahda 2, said he was concerned about the municipality’s warning. “I found (my) accommodation close to my office after a lot of hunting. It is not fair to ask a person to move out of his house just because he happens to be a bachelor. If the municipality is concerned about safety issues or nuisance caused by groups of young men, there should be other rules in place to prevent them.” Acting Director of the department Yusuf Abdullah Al Marzouqi said the municipality had been effectively executing the law of categorising areas in the emirate of Dubai in order to evict bachelors from residential areas, and prevent them from sharing family accommodation. This was to preserve the residential environment, social safety and tranquility, he said. The civic body had cracked down in many areas after field visits in several residential areas in Dubai, as many bachelors were found staying in residential areas designated for families. The department had already notified bachelors staying in residential areas allocated to families and given deadlines to tenants and owners to evacuate the places, and disconnected services. Marzouqi, who said it had been noticed some owners were still leasing rooms for bachelors in areas allocated for families, urged the public to cooperate with the civic body. “The municipality will take necessary action in case of receiving any complaint from families regarding the presence of bachelors in these areas,” he said. He also warned families who shared apartments that they were violating the rules and regulations which would adversely affect the social safety and harmony of the country, he said. sajila@khaleejtimes.com Taylor Scott International