10-day campaign to clean up Karama launched

DUBAI Dubai Municipality is spearheading a New Year clean up drive in Karama by urging residents to avoid hanging clothes on their balconies, littering, throwing away cigarette butts and spitting paan (betel nut juice).

Their workers are going from shop to shop and flat to flat to raise awareness about the need to maintain cleanliness in the district, a bargain-hunting ground for tourists.

Student volunteers have been roped in for the 10-day awareness campaign, dubbed “Say Yes to a Clean Karama” which kicked off on Wednesday.

“Our staff will talk to people about issues that need to be taken care of,” Abdul Majid Saifaie, director of the municipality’s Waste Department, told XPRESS. “Our staff and volunteers will also distribute pamphlets to generate awareness. It is an annual campaign and we are focusing on Central Business District (CBD) areas.”

Asked whether residents who don’t heed the municipality’s advice would be given a fine, Saifaie said: “Our aim is not to fine people. We want them to know that cleanliness is for their own benefit.”

Meanwhile, residents and shopkeepers have welcomed the drive. “They told us how we need to keep the area outside our shop clean. We understand that keeping the area clean is also good for business,” Gulam Rasool, who works in a shoe shop, told XPRESS.

Outside shops and residential buildings one can see posters extolling the benefits of keeping their area clean. Additional waste bins have also been installed.