Join Dubai's Car-Free Day on February 4

In 2014, almost 7,000 employees from 65 government and private organizations participated in the internationally appreciated green campaign of Dubai.

Dubai: Dubai will observe the 6th Car-Free Day on February 4 with a record participation of almost 200 entities from the government and private sectors.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, the Director General of Dubai Municipality Hussain Nasser Lootah said the number of participating entities has more than tripled compared to last year.

'Car-Free Day is one of the biggest environmental initiatives of the Dubai Municipality. This year we are observing it on February 4, coinciding with the National Environment Day,' he said, urging residents to make the initiative a big success.

Under the slogan 'Let's Walk...Stop‎ Driving', this year's Car-Free Day will see senior officials and employees of the participating departments and companies ‎walking, cycling and using any of the public transport modes to work‎.

In 2010, Dubai joined the global Car-Free Day campaigns, devoting a day to ditch cars and opt for public transport in an attempt to reduce carbon emission and environmental pollution. While the first edition of the initiative saw almost 1,500 employees and officials of the civic body switching to the Metro and buses, other governmental departments and ministries joined the drive over the years.

In 2014, almost 7,000 employees from 65 government and private organizations participated in the internationally appreciated green campaign of Dubai, contributing to the reduction of 20 tonnes of carbon emission during the day of the event, according to the municipality.

sajila@khaleejtimes.com