In case Nakheel manage to get the report pulled from the Gulf News website here is the article in full..
Families face eviction
By Mahmood Saberi, Staff Reporter
Dubai: A group of residents in The Gardens, Jebel Ali, on Friday started a desperate "Save Our Homes" campaign after they heard that their apartments will be torn down to build a highway.
Angry, bewildered and puzzled because of the silence from the management of the Nakheel township, dozens of tenants met in the main cricket field yesterday morning to chalk out a strategy and a signature campaign to reach the proper authorities.
The management of The Gardens is keeping mum on the issue and earlier told Gulf News it does not have any comment. But some residents said they were told their tenancy contracts would not be renewed.
To further confuse the issue, other tenants said their contract was renewed for a year, but were told to vacate their homes by June this year. Farah Haider said her tenancy contract was renewed till November this year.
One tenant living in building 36 said he also recently signed a new tenancy contract in the first week of December last year, which is valid for the next 12 months. "My first cheque has already gone out," he said, meaning that The Gardens management has encashed his first installment cheque.
As the informal meeting got underway, a security guard started shooting pictures of the crowd. A little while later a representative from Nakheel came on the scene and asked the Gulf News photographer to accompany him. "Did you get permission to meet here?" he asked.
He later softened his stance when told that residents do not need any permission to gather in the open playground. Nakheel is also the builder of Dubai's iconic project, The Palm.
Over 10 buildings behind the Ibn Battuta Mall will be affected if the rumours of the road project are true, which means that over 300 families will have to find new homes.
"This is a humanitarian issue," said some of the residents, many of whom are long-time residents in the three-bedroom apartments.
One tenant said he was told that the buildings will be torn down for a multi-lane highway or a Metro station. A few kilometres away on the Shaikh Zayed Road, a temporary sign has gone up with the words, 'Nakheel Station'. Nearby are the massive pylons for the Metro line.
According to the Roads and Transport Authority website, the Metro's Red Line will run from Al Karama, pass Burj Dubai, the Marina, Ibn Battuta and carry on to the Jebel Ali Industrial Area.
Residents say the RTA has other options rather than destroy their homes.
Earlier in February last year, residents in the Emaar townships of The Meadows and The Springs had met with RTA officials over its plans to run two highways through the area. One road is planned to run from Zabeel to Jebel Ali, cutting through the exclusive Emirates Hills development.
The other road runs from Zabeel to Ibn Battuta shopping mall in The Gardens, passing through the Greens and cutting through the Lakes and the Meadows.
Your comments
I have been living in the Gardens for the past four years and not knowing what tomorrow holds has been very stressful on our daily lives lately! Whether it be an extension to the mall or a highway I'm sure there are smarter alternatives than destroying 300 homes! Where are we supposed to live? We can't afford paying Dh100, 000 + for rent! Come on Nakheel, it seems roads and malls are more important to you than having a roof over the 300 families you are destroying!
DM
Jebal Ali,UAE
Well, it is all about building a society that will gain the trust of people. A society that respects human rights and builds a strong law that leads to this respect. I'm a Gardens resident and if this story turns to an end where my neighbourhood is not properly respected, I will leave not only the Gardens, but the whole country. Development of Dubai is a good thing. However, this should not be done on account of the people that contribute to this development. If the project has to go ahead, proper compensation should be granted to the victims of this act.
Younes
Dubai,UAE
As a tenant we don't have any rights, if they want us to move we cannot do anything except leave our golden memories. The owner has every right to do that. We should not forget that this is good for the UAE, from where we are getting our bread and butter. We don't have any right to make problems, we have to leave and move to a new place, after all no one has come in the world to stay forever.
Reddy
Dubai,UAE
Am also resident of the Gardens. Today we also heard rumours that no roads will be built but rather expanding the mall of Ibn Battuta from the Gardens side of the Mall, shifting the main road lane to the buildings that are planned to be destroyed, and building more parking s**** for the Mall. This is not a fair play just to throw out approximately 300 families, and on a very short notice basis. Residents have invested in the Gardens four years ago when it was a deserted area, but had the hope (as published) that it will be a landmark in Dubai. When it came to what it is now, residents are asked to evacuate after they have relocated their families, jobs, schools to live in the Gardens.
F. Soueid
Dubai,UAE
As one of the residents likely to be affected by this proposal, I still have not got over the shock. Like the other residents of the Gardens, my life has also been built around this area; my place of work, the selection of school for my children and my financial planning for the next five years. This is the only place in Dubai which has reasonable rents for middle class families. The sad part is that the Gardens management has not been completely transparent in their information and have been selectively leaking information, which has added to the confusion and rumours. We are really devastated by this news.
A.S.
Dubai,UAE
It nice that people got together to face this problem, and am sure that the RTA are wise enough to come up with an idea to solve this problem. However, this story shows how property managment compnaies care not about anything but thier own gains... "do you have primission?" says thier represinsitive... what an approach!
O.W.J. Ahmad
Abu Dhabi,UAE
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