DM launches drive to clean up desert areas

The Dubai Municipality has launched a special drive to cleanup desert areas, where temporary winter camps are set. The move comes as part of its efforts to raise the general cleanliness level of Dubai and protecting environment of desert areas within the framework of achieving sustainable environmental cleanliness as well as imparting awareness on the topic to the desert entertainers.

The drive, started by the waste management department of the civic body, will concentrate on imparting awareness to visitors on how to protect desert environment and how to safely dispose rubbish generated from and during visits to winter camps as well as by systematic patrolling to keep the areas clean.

In this regard, Abdul Majeed Saifaie, director of waste management department at the civic body said: “We have seen a huge number of visitors coming to desert areas from the very beginning of this year’s season, hailing from different sections and nationalities”

He said these visitors who throng desert areas round the clock for enjoying the season, vary in their environmental awareness levels.

“While some of them keep the rubbish they produce inside their car safely, to be disposed in the designated areas later, a considerable number of people found to be throwing rubbish randomly and irresponsibly,” he said.

He pointed that the first and important part of the newly implemented programme focusses on educating the visitors on why to be responsible with regards to desert environment and how to practically carry out waste management.According to him, the department has deployed teams for morning and evening shifts for patrolling the areas.

In the first team, there are two supervisors and 15 workers to impart awareness and to run the cleanup programme. In the evening shift, two supervisors and 10 workers will carry out the task.

Apart from these two, another team has been assigned to patrol in the night, which altogether makes Dubai Municipality programme running round the clock.

Saifaie said the Dubai Municipality has prepared eight open waste collection containers, 10 cubic meters in size in the desert camps areas, which helps visitors find waste containers within 500 metres from the camps.

Also, waste collection bins have been distributed along all the roads that lead to the camp areas.

Given the excess number of visitors during weekends, 25 extra personnel have been assigned to assist and strengthen the awareness and waste collection programme to each shifts.

According to the figures at the waste management department, so far, awareness team has contacted near about 1,250 visitors and 130 desert winter camps.

The team members have approached almost 600 vehicles and distributed awareness leaflets as well as bags to collect rubbish.

As a result of systematic waste collection programme, 4,000 bags that carry almost 20 tonnes of rubbish have been collected and sent for safe disposal.

The action team has distributed 1,320 awareness folders to visitors.

Regarding violations, the team has issued 35 notifications to winters camps that failed to comply with terms and conditions related to cleanliness.

Twelve violations have been booked and issued to vehicle owners for throwing out waste irresponsibly and for leaving rubbish without collecting and disposing it safely.

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