Bahrain is stepping up a crackdown on dangerous buildings in Manama as part of attempts to improve living conditions of low-income workers, said a report.

Illegal extensions in 103 buildings have already been torn down. The Manama Municipality expects to complete demolition work on 135 buildings by the end of the month, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

An additional unit has been introduced to ensure staff can work on 30 buildings a month instead of 20, revealed Manama Municipality inspection and follow-up section manager Mohammed Saad Al Sehali.

He added most of the buildings affected had been turned into labour camps that featured structures without permission from the municipality or did not follow regulations.

Demolition work is being carried out based on court orders, where the Manama Municipality earlier filed 363 cases against properties labelled dangerous.

Of these, around 276 cases were approved for partial demolition.

Bahrain stepped up a crackdown on unsafe living conditions following the deaths of 13 Bangladeshi workers in a fire on January 15.

They had been among 135 people living in a three-storey building in Mukharqa, which consisted of 27 rooms illegally constructed with wooden partitions.-Reuters