Creek cleaned to educate dhow workers

Dubai: Forty tonnes of rubbish was collected from the seabed around Hamriya port yesterday in an education drive targeting dhow workers on preserving the water quality of the creek.

The massive clean-up was opened by Mohammad Saeed Al Kindi, Minister of Environment and Water, and organised in conjunction with Dubai Municipality.

Professional divers and volunteers from oil firms and shipping companies took part in the half-day clean-up, along with dhow workers and people based at the port's creek side wharfs.

"When people see the amount of items collected from the bottom of the sea they realise that they should be more careful and look forward to the next clean-up. Everybody has a role to play," Al Kindi told Gulf News.

Hussain Lootah, Acting Director General of Dubai Municipality said fines and warnings were not always the best way to get people not to pollute the creek. "We want to educate the dhow employees on the need to significantly reduce this volume of waste," he said.