Abu Dhabi: Around 37 offences were reported in only two hours of people washing cars in public areas such as streets, the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City announced on Wednesday.
Abu Dhabi City Municipality’s Public Health Division is running a campaign to create awareness about illegal practices that could pose a risk to public health and safety.
“Washing cars in non-designated places will waste water, destroy the overall appearance of the place, damage asphalt roads and create a breeding ground for insects,” Khalifa Al Rumaithi, director of public health at the municipality, said.
“We have issued around 385 tickets to people washing cars in public places in 2013 and nearly 263 tickets were issued during January and February this year,” Al Rumaithi said.
The municipality is reminding the public that people who wash cars in public places will be fined Dh500.
Around eight warnings were also issued to violators in different residential areas to ensure that they comply with regulations.
“With all the dust in the air, it doesn’t take long before your car needs yet another wash. It is impossible to pay around Dh40 each time you want to wash your car in such horrible weather. Also, it is not reasonable to wait in a car wash queue for hours,” said 28-year-old A.H.
“Most people will either ask casual labourers or watchmen in residential areas to wash their cars in order to not waste their time and also pay less,” she added.
On a flip side, Mohammad Adel, 30-year-old resident of Abu Dhabi, told Gulf News: “I always wash my car by the eco-friendly mobile car wash, which helps to save litres of water and comply with the municipality’s regulations.”
The campaign also involved a number of educational videos on public heath standards being aired on electronic screens at the airport and passport control centres, and distribution of brochures on violations and resulting fines.
