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Anxious over the crackdown on the practice of sharing and partitioning villas, many residents have urged the authorities to take into consideration the difficulties experienced by those facing eviction before going ahead with their plans.
Speaking to Gulf Times, representatives of some affected sections – including their employers - are considering meeting authorities in the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning and Qatar Chamber to highlight the predicament of residents in view of the crackdown on villa sharing.
Sources told this newspaper yesterday that the authorities have put up notices on villas, which have been partitioned and are shared by bachelors, in areas such as Madinat Khalifa, Al Mamoura and New Salata, asking the inhabitants to vacate their accommodation “as early as possible”.
This has put many residents in a tight spot.
“Is it possible for one to find alternative accommodation on a war footing at affordable rates?” argued an Asian bachelor, who is among those asked by the authorities to vacate a villa in Al Mamoura where he and his friends have been staying for the last three years.
Besides residents, it is understood that the crackdown will also affect a number of firms that house their staff in shared villas. These companies not only have to look for suitable and affordable accommodation in other locations for their employees, but also find options that are not too far from the workplace. Otherwise, timings will be affected due to the longer commute.
“It makes the situation extremely difficult both for the employees and their employers. For instance, travelling between their accommodation and office will take the staff more time if they are unable to find a suitable place in the vicinity of their office,” said the manager of a contracting firm whose employees were among those evicted from a large partitioned villa in New Salata.
“It is high time organisations such as Qatar Chamber and other forums that represent business groups convince local officials about the gravity of the situation,” said an entrepreneur, claiming that the operations of many small and marginal companies have been hit hard by the crackdown.
Sources said many of those who have been asked to vacate partitioned villas over the last few days are either mid-level employees or executive bachelors, including some who work for major government employers.
One of them said he and some friends moved to a partitioned villa about a month ago as his office shifted to a new location recently. “Now, we are facing eviction at the new accommodation on account of the municipal directive,” said the worried expatriate.
