A view of the sewage water at Ibn Al Farra Street of Old Airport area yesterday.(Qassim Rahmatullah)
By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Overflowing sewage has made life miserable for people living on Ibn Farra Street in the Old Airport area, with some deciding to move from there because of the unbearable stench and unhygienic conditions. Repeated complaints to Baladiya have proved futile.
Residents of the area began facing the ordeal more than two months ago, when sewage started overflowing from a new building occupied by some bachelors since December.
A complaint was lodged with Ashghal, which refused to attend to the problem saying that the building in question did not have a proper sewage connection.
Then the residents lodged several complaints through Baladiya’s website. The complaints have been acknowledged but not attended to.
Moss has grown over parts of the area exposed to the sewage and flies can be seen buzzing around, while a bad smell hangs over the place.
Some residents have decided to move from there saying the locality is becoming unsuitable for living and poses a high risk of illness.
“Some people came from the Baladiya once and said that a report had been submitted to their higher officials and action would be taken, but nothing has happened yet,” a resident of the area told this newspaper.
“It has been more than two months now and every day the situation is worsening. Mornings are horrible; the area is flooded with sewage water. That’s the time children go to school. If the problem is not solved soon we would move from here,” she added.
Renovation and construction is going on in some buildings in the area. Waste from the construction work gets mixed with the sewage and worsens the situation.
“The place becomes muddy when construction waste mixes with the sewage. The area looks like a slum at times; we face many problems due to this, and we can’t even invite anyone home,” said another resident.
Attempts to contact Baladiya officials did not succeed.
THE PENINSULA
