Sharjah closes over 25 illegal sand parking lots

Sharjah - Some people were misusing these lots and used to leave their vehicles there for long periods of time.

In a massive drive, the Sharjah Municipality has closed over 25 illegal sand parking lots that were sullying the aesthetic look of the city.

Ali Ahmed Abu Ghazin, director of department of public parking in Sharjah City Municipality, said that the civic body had organised the campaign to ban parking in all sandy spaces since the beginning of this year. Some people were misusing these lots and used to leave their vehicles here for long periods of time, he pointed out.

Sufficient paid parking

The municipality decided to close these 'kaccha' lots after it was confirmed that there were sufficient number of paid public and private parking zones in these areas.

Ali Ahmed confirmed that more than 25 such areas have been closed in different parts of Sharjah city.

He added that a site's closure was undertaken after studying it thoroughly and ensuring that there were enough regular parking squares in the area. The municipality distributed awareness leaflets for three days to inform the motorists to move their cars parked in these areas.

Negative practices

There are many negative practices that have been detected in these areas - haphazard parking being one of them. Cars are parked randomly and invariably block the way of each other. Those trying to move their vehicles call the police and waste their time to address the problem. Improper parking also causes damage to some vehicles as little space is left between cars. These sand parking lots lack designed entrances or exits, which too often makes it difficult to get out of the confounding muddle.

Dumping ground

Some residents use these sandy areas to dump garbage and to discard furniture. The police have also received many reports of ugly and anti-social behaviours against people from these places.

The municipality has urged people to park their vehicles in regular parking lots and licenced and approved parking areas and to take care of the cleanliness of their vehicles constantly.

Can't afford paid parking, say residents

Many residents said that they use sandy areas to park their vehicles even though these are far from their residence, as they can't afford to pay charges for the private parking lots. The owners of these lots continue to increase the subscription cashing in on the Covid-19 situation when many people are confined to their homes, residents lamented.

Mohamed Allamuldeen Khan, who lives in Al Mahatta area, said that he can’t afford to pay the parking fee as his salary has been slashed by 50 per cent. He added that the pandemic has forced him to send his family back home and stay with bachelors to cut on expenses.

Move hailed

The owners of licenced private parking lots have hailed the civic body for its crackdown on sand parking areas. They said during the pandemic, many motorists resorted to parking their cars in sandy areas. This had caused them a huge financial loss and made a dent in their business. The closure of the sand parking lots will make the motorists subscribe with us again and put our business back on track, they pointed out.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah