Water pipe bursts, floods Jebel Ali Gardens

A water pipe burst close to Delhi Private School and Winchester in Jebel Ali Gardens at around 11.30am on Tuesday.

The roundabout near Ibn Batutta Mall’s China court was waterlogged. However, the water had drained out near the schools at 1.30 pm, leaving a stretch of sludge in and outside the school premises.

Earlier, Winchester School, Jebel Ali, sent out sms to parents, stating, “Water leakage in Gardens opposite school. Traffic congestion and expected delay in buses.”

A DPS security guard said that the basement of one of the school buildings was flooded, but all the school buses had left on time to drop off the kids.

Dewa officials were at site.

Earlier this week, Gardens residents experienced another flooding near Ibn Battuta Mall, when yet another water main reportedly burst near the cinemas, flooding the neighbouring streets with water rising nearly a feet in some places.

Arthur Linley, a long-time resident of the community said: “The latest incident is one in a long history of recurring incidents that has plagued all of us here. We have reached a point where the only time we are surprised is when there isn’t any flooding in the area.

“If we complain to Nakheel and Dewa, they will solve the issue temporarily, but will do nothing to actually tackle the main problem, whatever it may be.”

Another eye witness who wished to remain anonymous said: “I do not live in the Gardens, but I drop my dad off to work every morning. Every alternate day involves us driving through partially submerged streets.

“That would have been OK and a little fun, but we’re talking about smelly sewage/irrigation water here. The car literally stinks after the drive and we usually turn on recirculated A/C every time we enter the area.”

 He continued: “This flooding situation caused an uproar about two months back but little has been done since then... These days they pump out the water whenever there is a flood, but nothing more. They installed a few permanent pumps for a while (to pump the water to an adjacent sandy area), but they got rid of those last month.

“You can also notice that many of the plants in the area are either dried out or dead due to periodic waterlogging.”

Gitanjali Modi, who lives in a cluster opposite Geant supermarket stated: “This has become a way of life for us now. The water you can still tolerate, but the smell, it simply makes the whole mess beyond disgusting. My family is now so fed up of this, we are planning to move out of here when our lease is up next year.”
 

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