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National girl hurt as roof caves in

AL AIN — A UAE national girl was injured when the roof of her room caved in early morning on Friday at the dilapidated family home in Al Maqam area here.

Shakeeb Al Kuthairy said his daughter suffered several cuts and bruises, especially on the face and neck. ''When the roof collapsed I heard a horrible sound. I hurried outside my room to see what had happened. I heard my daughter crying hysterically. Fortunately, the giant cement block of the roof fell on the bed stand which absorbed the brunt of the crash,'' he said.

The mishap occurred at 2:15 am when his daughter was asleep. Al Kuthairy revealed that it is the second time that a roof has collapsed in the house, but his family was forced to live in the hazardous conditions as the local authorities had failed to find a new house for them despite repeated requests.

Meanwhile, 48 UAE families who vacated their old homes at Al Maqam area on the directions of the Al Ain Municipality four years ago are yet to be rehabilitated by the civic body in new houses. They had apparently been assured that the new houses would be ready in a year. The Al Ain Municipality had given each family money to cover one year's rent as a stop gap arrangement. However, their period of stay has already extended to four years.

''A total of 400 residences in Al Salamat area near Al Ain need to be rebuilt by the Works Department,'' an informed source disclosed.