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Tenants unite in protest over water shortage

AJMAN — Tenants of the Salih Omer bin Hyder building in Ajman, who have been suffering from a prolonged disruption of water supply, protested on Sunday before the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA) premises in Ajman.

The gathering urged officials of FEWA to take urgent action to solve their problem.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dr Shahnaz a resident of the building said that after the report of the water problem was published in KT on Sunday, the residents decided to take up the matter with the concerned authorities, such as FEWA, the municipality and the building management.

She added that one of the tenants distributed the copies of a letter among the residents requesting a meeting to discuss ways of solving their water problem. All the tenants attended and decided to gather at the FEWA premises to demand an immediate solution to the problem.

More than 50 tenants including men, women, children and elderly people were assembled at FEWA's gate, and three persons represented the tenants and discussed the issue with officials there. The representatives included Abdul Gabar Al Bargouthi M.A. and Mohammed Al Rayan.

Mr Al Bargouthi said: “We met with Jasim Omran Jasim, Area Director of the FEWA who welcomed us and promised to solve the problem immediately by sending the chief of engineers at FEWA to investigate the problem. We all agreed to be patient for another two days to give the FEWA in Ajman a chance to solve the problem. If solution is not provided, we will go to the FEWA office in Dubai and hold a hunger strike till the higher authority responds to our call and relieve us of the crisis.”

He added: “I have been living in this building for more than eight years and we never faced such difficulties before, but the problem started after a new building came up on an adjacent plot. A majority of the residents are of the opinion that the water pressure fizzles out due to the new building, leaving our building without water supply. The landlord is providing us with tank water, but it's not enough. We have been facing this water crisis for more than 20 days and no information was given to the tenants of the building about the problem. I hope FEWA understands the gravity of the problem.”

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Saeed Majid Al Shamsi, Director General of FEWA said that there is no problem of lack of water in Ajman. The water is being supplied by FEWA to every nook and corner of the emirate. No complaints were made before, regarding disruption of the water in the emirate. The tenants or the landlord of a building should not wait for so long, they must immediately notify FEWA to have the defect fixed.

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