More than 100 fishermen have been ordered to vacate a makeshift harbour in Juffair, Bahrain, so that the surrounding land can be used to build a new ring road.

Warning letters were sent by the Works Ministry ordering an immediate evacuation of the site last week, but yesterday the fishermen were told they would be allowed to stay until 'a week before work is due to commence,’ said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Since 2008 plans for a jetty in Juffair near Al Najma Club have been discussed by the Manama Municipal Council, but nothing has ever materialised.

Outgoing area councillor Hussain Qarqoor told the GDN that this would leave the fishermen with no alternative location to launch from.

“We acknowledge that the ring road is vital, we are not against it, but the 150 fishermen who are currently using the site as a jetty should be provided with an alternative location,” he said.

“Those 150 fishermen support around 600 family members and depriving them of their source of income for even a single day would certainly damage their livelihoods.

“There is a problem with new locations that have sea access, since all are private properties and their owners have plans to build on them.

“The fishermen have all received warnings to leave the current site, but the Works Ministry put the decision on hold on humanitarian grounds after we contacted them '“ yet this is temporary, as work is set to begin at any moment.”

Qarqoor, who is also the soon-to-be-dissolved council's public utilities and environment affairs committee chairman, said the Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry had been asked several times over the past six years to allocate a budget for a new jetty, but had failed to do so.

“There were assurances in parliament over the past four years that work was set to begin, but nothing has been done, as no budget has been allocated,” he said.

“No reasons have been stated, but the poor fishermen are paying the price, after being moved from one place to another over the past 12 years as Juffair has turned into a cosmopolitan area.”

Even if work began on a new jetty tomorrow, it would take up to two years before it is completed, according to Qarqoor.

“This means that the fishermen would be sitting at home for that period without any work,” he said.

“We call on His Majesty King Hamad to direct the government to work on the new ring road without affecting the fishermen.”

The Manama Municipal Council is set to be replaced by an appointed 10-member panel of Capital Trustees on December 1. However, Qarqoor will continue his work with the Muharraq Municipality in his capacity as a consultant municipal engineer. - TradeArabia News Service