ATOLL ANGST

FURIOUS residents who bought into Durrat Al Bahrain’s vision say their dreams of a ‘seaside city resort’ have been shattered after water barriers were placed around some of the arc-shaped atolls where they live.

They say they were attracted by a lifestyle involving boating, jet skiing and other water-related sports, as featured pictorially throughout the glossy brochures promoting the multi-million dinar development, and are complaining bitterly about the action.

An added attraction to living in the area has been the frequent close-up visits from dolphins but the pods have been frightened off by the new security measures introduced a few weeks ago to two of the six atolls.

According to Durrat Resort Management’s community and public relations assistant, Soha Al Awadhi, the barrier has a multi-purpose use, helping to lessen the amount of sea weed, jelly fish and rubbish. It also acts as an outline for jet ski and boat users as the atoll area has been restricted due to numerous complaints regarding noise, as well as the safety aspect of having motorised crafts coming to the atolls.

One boat-owning beach-side resident, who asked not to be named, said: “Residents are being denied access to the beach and their villas and most importantly the lifestyle sold to them. All images, brochures and even the resort model showed boats and watercrafts inside the atoll and yet now we are being denied this lifestyle without discussion or even prior notice.”

He claims the barrier is of little or no use against sea weed, jelly fish or other floating rubbish because it is only two metres deep and the water depth in the location is in excess of five metres.

The mesh spacing is also too big to prevent small jelly fish from entering and, ironically, the larger ones are now trapped in the atoll.

“As for safety, a while ago I had to beckon a jet skier to rescue a young teenager who had capsized a kayak in the middle of the atoll. The quick action of the jet skier prevented the teen from drowning whilst the security boat was nowhere to be seen.

“As for access for boats and jet skis the beach villa owners have been completely respectful of the management’s recent instructions to ensure slow speeds inside the confines of the atoll.”

Another resident added: “It was lovely to see boats in the atolls. Durrat was a wonderful, unique place – one of the only places that you could moor your boat and walk from the beach into your home.

“The barriers are ugly and spoil the beauty of this place. All that has been achieved is the residents are upset, the dolphins have been stopped from coming in and the properties on the beach have been devalued in my opinion.”
Since the barriers came up, residents have to moor their boats in allocated areas away from the atolls.

Mrs Al Awadhi says the resort’s management had informed all residents by text several weeks ago that action would be taken if rules surrounding the use of water craft were not adhered to. “Residents were advised not to use the atolls as sports zones and only as a pick up and drop off or barriers would go up,” she told GulfWeekly.

In correspondence between the complainants and the resort management, seen by GulfWeekly, Mrs Al Awadhi added: “Barrier or no barrier, at no time was it ever permissible to moor a boat in the lagoons of the attols.

“Decisions that affect the residents are made daily and are all made with the best interests of the community in mind. With regards to the barriers that have been put in place, it was a decision taken  by management to ensure the safety of the residents and to deliver on the promise they made to villa owners that they will be able to enjoy their properties in a safe and serene atmosphere.

“With the barriers up, children can now swim safely without the risk of coming face to face with a propeller. Residents have the luxury of swimming freely, snorkeling or to merely enjoy the calm waters without fear of being hit by a water craft. Even residents who wish to kayak can do so on the atolls without their experience being affected by waves coming at them from jet skis or boats driving too close to them, resulting in an unfortunate experience should their kayak capsize.”

Flyers petitioning the removal of the barriers are now being passed around to the neighbouring atolls. In response the management has sent out another mass text to inform all residents of the reasons behind the move and claim the majority of residents back its action.

In recent years similar rows have erupted at Amwaj Islands, another of Bahrain’s iconic waterside developments.
Jointly-owned by the government and Kuwait Finance House (KFH), Durrat spreads across a stretch of reclaimed desert and sea located on the south coast of Bahrain. The 20sq/km community will one day be one third larger than Manama and is planned to have 13 different islands with over 2,000 villas, more than 3,000 apartments, luxury hotels, restaurants, promenades and shopping centres. The development will include a marina, spas, sports facilities and an 18-hole championship golf course.

The outermost edge of the resort city consists of six atolls with open sea views. An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There are also five Petal Islands which are set closer to the mainland shore and many villas on these islands have their own mooring facilities for boats and jet skis.