UAE rains: Some residents climb more than 2,000 stairs daily as lifts stop working

Indian expat SS* commutes between his home and office multiple times in a day due to the nature of his work. But the 61-year-old has been forced to climb up and down more than 2,000 stairs of his apartment building every day after the elevators stopped working following heavy rains in Sharjah over the weekend.

A resident of the New Zubaidi Building on King Faisal Street, SS told Khaleej Times in an interview, “I go to the office in the morning and come back around the afternoon. Then, I go again after a few hours and return home in the evening. I have to walk 350 stairs in each direction because the elevators are not operational. The company managing the building is trying to pump out water from the flooded basement. Meanwhile, there is still some water on the road, and it smells.”

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When KT visited the site on Monday afternoon, elevators in the two towers were still not operational, and officials were trying to pump out water from the building’s basement. Although both the banks located on the ground floor as well as the apartments had electricity, the elevators were out of order.

A UAE resident for nearly 35 years, SS hoped that the company managing the building would be able to solve the problem soon as it has been proving a major hassle for tenants, especially those with physical ailments.

During the visit, KT saw tenants coming out from the building and complaining to the management officials on the site who were trying to coordinate with the Sharjah Municipality to arrange for trucks to flush out water from the basement.

ZA*, an Arab national in her 40s suffering from knee problems, also requested officials to expedite the process.

Unfortunately, two days after the rain, some areas in Al Khan an Al Majaz, Jamal Abdul Nasir Street and Al Wahda Street in front of Sharjah City Centre continue to be flooded on Monday afternoon.

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