(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Soon after Eid al Adha, hundreds of families from the Batinah Coastal road shifted to their new houses, provided by the government.
For them, it was a necessity to shift and so they did. More than ten areas, each housing approximately 100 families in Mussanah have been affected by the coastal road project.
Muscat Daily spoke to a few families in Mussanah to find out about their state of affairs in their new location. Showing his old place where he used to stay fisherman Nawwaf bin Ali bin Mohammed al Belushi said, 'This house had been here for 60 years. My grandparents, parents and me along with my siblings stayed in this home and it is only recently that we shifted. We had no choice.'
He said that the government had started construction of the new houses in 2005 and doors have termites by now. 'Earlier, the government used to offer RO45,000 to each family who would have to relocate, besides offering a plot,' said Belushi.
However, things changed. He said that next, people were offered only money and no land. 'The situation now is that people are forced to take a house, like it or not,' he added. Belushi said the new area does not have pipe-borne water. 'Though government tankers come and supply water to each household tank, but they are not regular,' he said, adding, 'For big families it is a crisis as we need to spend extra on water.'
Life has completely changed for Abdullah Khamis Salim al Afari, an elderly person from the area. 'For 50 years, I lived in my old house, which has been demolished now,' he sighed. He took us around the area. 'Can you see even one trash bin? No. There are none in the whole area and isn't this bad? 'Also, there are no mosques in the area. The street lights have been installed, but do not work. All the lanes are dark after sunset,' he said. Afari, who was a fisherman too, worked for Mussanah Municipality for a few years, before retiring.
'Each household had livestock earlier, and that is because there was space. But these new houses do not have enough space for that,' he said. Something that he misses the most is the 'family like bond' they shared with the neighbours. 'It used to be a place where everyone knew each other and we all considered ourselves to be part of one huge family.' Another affected, Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saif al Afari, also had similar stories to share about how his life has changed after shifting.
'We, or our children for that matter, grew up in the beach and now the beach is far away, and this pains us,' he said. Moreover, for the elderly, it is difficult visiting the beach on their own. Now, they have to depend on their children. Earlier the beach was just a minute's walk. 'I now have to depend on my children to take me to 'see the blue sea' and interact with the present day fishermen, to relive my youth,' he lamented.
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