Dubai /Sharjah Dubai Police have started issuing fines to residents of Al Nahda Sharjah who jaywalk across to Dubai using a sandy stretch.
Thousands who live in the bustling neighbourhood in Sharjah trudge through the vacant sandy stretch daily to get to the other side – Dubai’s Amman Street – for a bus or taxi, mostly to go to the Stadium Metro station and back. However, several were caught by surprise last week when Dubai Police fined them Dh200 each for jaywalking.
Three residents who were fined were able to show XPRESS the fine slip issued by Dubai Police.
Huge concern
“I have been using this stretch every morning and evening for years but this is the first time I have been fined and I am not sure what law have I broken. I use this path like so many others do every single day,” said Mohammad Nissar, an Indian expat who was asked to hand over his labour card by an official last Wednesday and pick it up from the nearby police station after clearing the fine.
“This is a matter of huge concern for all of us. This was the only place that let us cross the border all these years, saving us not only time but a lot of money. If using this sandy stretch is made illegal now then I am not sure what to do. A proper walkway must be built for us to continue using this stretch. This is and has been our lifeline,” said Nisha Nair, another Indian expat who uses the narrow opening in the border fencing - about a couple of arms lengths wide - at the foot of the Al Nahda bridge that currently serves as a popular transit point.
The only other walkway that has been built connecting the two emirates is behind the Sahara Centre mall almost a kilometre down the road.
“It makes life very difficult really. In peak hours, cabbies don’t want to go to Dubai and even if they do, we have to shell out Dh20 extra for crossing over to another emirate. Besides it’s a whole lot easier taking a taxi or bus in Dubai to the nearest Metro station than to reach the same destination using a different mode directly from our homes,” explained Amine Ganem, an Egyptian banker who takes the Metro to commute to his DIFC branch everyday and back.
A Dubai Police spokesperson, however, told XPRESS that fines were issued to individuals for jaywalking in the best interests of the pedestrians and their overall safety.
