• Home

New signboards to advise beach goers on proper swimsuits

DUBAI - New sign boards will be installed on all public and private beaches urging beach goers to wear proper swim wear and avoid indecenct clothing and behaviour on the beaches, a senior Dubai Municipality official said on Tuesday.

The signboards will be installed during the next two months, the official said.

Mohammad Ahmad Al Louz, Head of Deira Parks Section, told Khaleej Times that the decision to set up new sign boards was taken after a lot of complaints were received by the municipality about improper dress of beach goers, particularly women from Western and European countries. He said lifeguards stationed at the beaches have been told to look out for such beach goers.

"If any person tends to act in an indecent way such as removing the swim suits, the lifeguards must go and tell the person to stop. If the person is adamant, the lifeguards should report the matter to the supervisors of the beaches. The beach supervisor will be authorised to ask the person to immediately leave the beach,” said Louz

However, he said, they are currently not considering introduction of any fines or penalties for such violations. The problem persists with those visitors who are new in the country and don’t know much about the local rules and laws," said Louz.

The Dubai Municipality currently has a signboard on the beaches which spells out the many safety measures people should take. The board also asks the beach goers to stop bringing their pets to the beaches.

"Work on the new sign boards is in its final stages at the moment. The new boards would advise the people to wear swimming costumers on the beaches. It would also urge the people to behave decently and must not indulge in any forms of vulgarity and indecency," the official pointed out.

He said that the number of complaints regarding the beach-goers’ clothing had gone up.

"In the recent past, we have received quite a few complaints from the female folk, particularly UAE nationals. According to them, the menace is particularly prevalent in the beach parks. Recently, there was a case in which a person was seen trying to photograph women inside the Jumeirah Beach Park," Louz opined.

Civic body sources said that they were coordinating with the Dubai police in this connection and the number of policemen carrying out inspections in the beaches had been increased.

• UAE