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Abu Hail residents live on hope and a prayer

DUBAI - Past the scheduled date of disconnection of water and electricity, life inside the low-lying Abu Hail area in Dubai earmarked for demolition, carries on as usual.

Water and electricity have not yet been disconnected as announced before, but most residents are continuing to live there, in the hope that they will be given more time to locate affordable accommodation.

More than 5,000 men living in bachelor accommodation have been served notices to vacate the villas that they are staying in. The last date was August 1 when water and electricity services were due to be disconnected. There are some villas that have already been deserted, with the occupants already finding accommodation elsewhere, but a majority are still there, simply because they do not know where to go.

Employed as masons, carpenters, cart-pullers, gardeners and even casual labourers the inhabitants of these villas, pay Dh100-150 for the room that they share with 10 others. For them to locate accommodation as cheap as this is proving to be a difficult.

The most difficult task is for those who are employed in small restaurants, laundries and stationery shops in that area and they do not know for how long they will live and work in the country. Noor Ali at the Bakhit Obaid Foodstuff Trading says that he has no clue that all the buildings are going to be demolished.

At the Ghalib Humaid laundry, the workers claim that they are aware that they have been asked to relocate, but they have no clue where the owner will take them. ‘I guess, we will continue to work till the time we are compelled to go,’ said Ganesh, a worker.

Urs Baksh, a salesman of fish at the Deira fish market has made preparations to go off to a nearby area and his bags are packed and being loaded into a truck. There are other villas that wear a deserted look or for that matter the Al Wasit Tailoring and Embroidery shop that has relocated.

Huge Dubai Municipality waste-bins are overflowing with the discarded items of inhabitants who have vacated the houses and left for other destinations.

But there are others like mason Marimuthu, who pays Dh200 for the room that he stays in. He cannot simply find another room against the same price so he prays he will be allowed to stay in the hope that there will be an extension in the time given to them for vacating the houses. Elsewhere, confusion prevails, as many residents are unaware of the fact that their days in their current accommodation are numbered. ‘We live each day as it comes and don’t look into the future. We will not vacate unless we are forced to,’ said Riyaz, a Pakistani labourer.