More misery for Musheireb residents

There was more misery for people in the Musheireb area after electricity to several more buildings, housing shops and residential units, was cut off on Monday.

The move came after Kahramaa had issued power discontinuation notices on October 18 to hundreds of shops in the country’s first business hub as part of clearing the area for urban regeneration.

“We were sitting in our shop in the morning hoping for a miracle, but around 9.30am the power went out. After staring in the dark for a while we slowly started moving out of the area,” a shopkeeper on Abdulla Bin Thani Street said yesterday.

A whole block, starting from what is popularly known as the Arab Bank Roundabout all the way to the Abdulla Bin Thani Street, was switched off.

Shop keepers and residents were seen yesterday moving out inventory and furniture to various destinations across the country, after having lived and engaged in business for years in the once bustling heart of Doha.

“It’ll take us at least 4-5 days to completely remove everything from here, including lights and fixtures,” an official of a stationary shop said.

“Our new shop isn’t ready. In addition to losing business, there’s also the cost of relocation,” he said, after emerging from his shop.

The only people smiling yesterday were the transporters. Their business is booming as hundreds of tonnes of goods worth millions of riyals are moved out of the area.

“We are charging QR500 per trip per truck. This is for within city limits. If it’s outside Doha it is more. Truck rental for commercial entities is also higher,” a truck owner said.

Others, however, remain continue to stare into an abyss.

“The deadline for us was the same. But nothing is happening today. When we asked a Kahramaa official on Monday about our status, he said ‘you will be next week,’” a textile shop-owner said.

“I’m not moving out as long as there’s power. The weather is somewhat acceptable now. Once the power is cut, I’ll start to shift inventory to my room,” he said.

“There hasn’t been any business here anyway. I’ve been selling at cost and below cost,” he added.

Former tenants and businessmen have criticised the incoherent eviction system which is causing grief, uncertainty and loss of business.

The demolition in Musheireb, being carried out in phases, began in October 2008. The first to go were phases 1A and 1B where re-generation work is already underway, with phases 2 and 3 under the axe now. Phase 4 is marked for demolition in June 2011.

For the remaining shops on the Musheireb Street past Abdulla Bin Thani Street, the waiting game, meanwhile continues.