It's what happens when development runs so far ahead of infrastructure.
There are too many buildings, too many people, too much traffic for the power supply, water supply, sewage treatment, roads to cope.
Sharjah has been having real problems for a long time and adding to them is the standard attitude of organisations in the area.
Be unavailable. Say nothing. Go into hiding.
It's an ongoing story, continued in today's Gulf News:
"Unable to bear the summer heat, residents in industrial areas in Sharjah who are going without electricity and water are now sleeping on pavements and terraces...'There is no water supply and we have to buy water from outside even if we have to go to the toilet'....'The kitchen sink is filled with pots and pans waiting to be cleaned, but that can only be done once we get electricity and water supply restored'...Dr Shuhaib S. Hameed, a dentist, had been caught off-guard on several occasions when the electricity supply went off abruptly while he was busy with his patients. 'Once, I was extracting a wisdom tooth and all of a sudden the electricity went off. It took a while before we got the generator up and running, but in the meanwhile it could bring harm to the patient'..."
And in reference to communication from the supplier, SEWA:
"Asked whether they have contacted the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa), Ali said: 'Sewa? What Sewa offices are you talking about? They hardly pick up their telephones. We are tired of calling them up.'
'Load shedding happens everywhere and in every country, but all that we want is for the Sewa to inform us on the timings when power failure is going to take place.'
Gulf News tried to get in touch with Sewa, but no one was available for to comment.
I think it's the tell-them-nothing attitude that annoys me more than anything.
The Gulf News story is here.
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4 comments:
Apart from the sheer inconvenience and comfort-issue of no electricity, light or water, there's a big safety issue here. The National newspaper was reporting on those who are ill and are stuck at home, unable to fully recuperate. And what about those living in high-rise buildings, having to walk up and down numerous flights of stairs? A heavily pregnant lady was interviewed who lives on the 15th floor and has to walk her 6 year-old daugher down the stairs to the bus every morning, picks up a few groceries (they can't keep dairy, meat, etc. in the house because the fridge is - of course - off) and then it takes her about 1 hour to climb up those stairs again to her apartment. Dreadful.
very very disturbing …
The ruler of Sharjah has met with the President yesterday at Al Ain. Hopefully the federal government will finance to help out of this struggle.
You've got to give it to DEWA, their response to emergencies is usually prompt.
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