Saturday, June 16, 2007

Sorry Bachelors - no more housing ads for you!

The definition of "Bachelor" in the Oxford Dictionary:
• (noun) a man who has never been married.

The definition of "Bachelor" in the UAE:
• Constitutes 50% of the population in Abu Dhabi. -Gulf News
• Cannot acquire family visa if salary is below AED 4000 -Gulf News
• Cannot bring parents if minimum salary is not less than AED7000. -Gulf News
• Can only stay in segregated areas of the city away from family areas, or far from city limits. - Gulf News
• Sleeps on rooftops, in parks or on streets -Gulf News
• Live in groups of 10 in one room or beating slum records in Mumbai with 48 men in 5 rooms of 9 square meters each. - Gulf News
• Blamed for water shortage in family areas, instead of swimming pools, spas, personal jacuzzi's, water showers etc. or small water tanks in buildings built 10 years ago. -Gulf News
• Gets their water and electricity cut even though the accommodation is rented out by their company. -Gulf News
• Conveniently blamed for the city's litter on the rooftops including sofas which hardly fit into a room with 10 men or their budgets to throw one. -Gulf News
• Exploited by greedy building owners who increase rent by 500%. Owners let rooms out to individuals who, in a bid to maximize their sub-letting profits, cram as many beds in them as possible. -Gulf News
• Make neighbors uneasy by appearing shirtless on balconies -Gulf News
• Cannot be picked up by their company buses in residential areas or city limits and are forced to walk long distances in the searing heat. -Gulf News

And now to add one more point to the list:
• Cannot advertise for room partners in the local media.

"In an attempt to compel bachelors to move to accommodations in industrial areas, the Sharjah Municipality has urged all advertising and classified sections of all local newspapers not to publish vacancies of bachelor accommodations in Sharjah’s residential areas." -Khaleej Times

If the media as expected accepts the call and enforces the ban, it is left to wonder, who will be more sad? The media or the municipality? The media will sorely miss loss of revenue from the hundreds of classifieds charged at exorbitant rates. Or will it be the municipality workers who will have more work cleaning up printed adverts pasted on walls, telephone booths, light poles, shop shutters etc. asking for room partners. Maybe there might be more job openings for bachelors in the Municipality soon due to increased work load.

And they said being a bachelor was easy with no strings attached.


Related Articles:
Media told not to advertise bachelor housing -Khaleej Times
'Bachelors' of a building say rent has increased by 500% -Gulf News
Bachelors unhappy with segregated housing plans -Gulf News
Bachelors blamed for Al Rolla water shortage -Gulf News
Civic body cuts power supply to villas housing bachelors -Gulf News
Karama residents blame bachelors for littering rooftops -Gulf News
Hundreds of 'bachelors' crammed in squalid and dilapidated buildings -Gulf News
Residents complain about shirtless bachelors on balconies -Gulf News
Fines for buses in 'wrong area' angers firms -Gulf News
Sharjah ban on worker buses in city criticised -Gulf News

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