Dubai: A special cleanup campaign by Dubai Municipality saw workers removing 360 tonnes of waste distorting the beauty of the city on main roads. A whopping 8,000 tonnes of sand was also removed from roads stretching 388km, the civic body announced on Sunday.
As part of its continuous efforts to maintain a distinguished level of public hygiene, Dubai Municipality recently carried out the specialised field campaign to clean the median islands and shoulders of the main roads in the emirate.
Waste, weeds and rubbish in these areas were cleared in cooperation with a number of government departments such as the RTA and Dubai Police to ensure public safety and the flow of traffic movement for pedestrians and motorists, the municipality said in a press release.
Abdulmajeed Abdul Aziz Al Saifaie, director of Waste Management Department at Dubai Municipality, said: “Through the field campaign to clean the main roads, which was launched in April, we seek to contribute to maintaining the aesthetic appearance of the road network that characterises Dubai globally and removing obstacles, waste, and accumulations of sand and random weeds in the median islands of the roads, which cause the accumulation of sand on the shoulders of the roads too.”
If sand does not get moved smoothly after sandstorms, it leads to obstruction of traffic and low traffic safety, he pointed out. “A manual cleaning programme has been implemented to remove small waste where it is difficult to use large machines and equipment and special programme using heavy machinery and equipment for sand removal to get rid of accumulated waste of sand, weeds and dry trees.”
Massive results
Saifaie said that one of the results of this field campaign was the removal of approximately 360 tonnes of rubbish, weeds, dry trees, abandoned waste and stones that distort the appearance of the right-of-way and the median islands. “In addition, 420 loads of accumulated sand, equivalent to 8,000 tonnes, were removed from the median islands. The total lengths of the roads that were cleaned were 388 linear kilometres. Specialised equipment was used to remove cigarette butts and small waste, in addition to automatic sweeping vehicles with the participation of 140 cleaners and 16 supervisory officials,” he said.
“Cooperation has been sought with a number of authorities such as the Department of Agriculture and Public Parks in Dubai Municipality, RTA and Dubai Police. The work was carried out at non-peak hours considering the traffic density on these vital roads. The highest levels of safety and public health was also taken into account.”
Areas covered
The campaign covered median islands, entrances and exits of streets and major intersections in many areas, such as Dubai — Al Ain Road, Dubai — Hatta Road, Emirates Road, Amman Street, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, Al Rabat Street, Al Awir Street, Nad Al Hamar Street, Al Khail Road, Sheikh Rashid Road, Al Qudra Road and other major streets in the emirate, said Saifaie.
It was held as part of approved annual field hygiene campaigns and programmes, and is an affirmation of the sustained attention given by Dubai Municipality to hygiene in all areas of the emirate, thus achieving sustainable development goals and contributing effectively in realising the operational indicators contained in the Strategic Plan for Waste Management 2016-2021.
Dubai Municipality constantly reminds, through its awareness and media channels, the need for vehicle owners and drivers to commit not to throw their waste on public roads and to abide by the basic rules to maintain the cleanliness of the city, because it often needs a great effort to remove these wastes due to its accumulation among grasses and trees on median islands and intersections. Hence, they are removed by workers manually.
The Municipality also emphasised the importance of public cooperation by using special bags for putting waste instead of throwing it on the road, which avoids fines based on the provisions of Local Order No. 11 of 2003 regarding public health and community safety in the Emirate of Dubai. This is to reduce the negative impacts and erroneous practices that affect the aesthetic beauty of the city, as the public road is considered a mirror of cleanliness and urbanisation in any city, the civic body stated.
