Dubai launches campaign against public urination

Dubai: Stained walls and dirty streets are the last thing that pedestrians want to see in Dubai.

But to see people urinating in public has brought outrage from residents.

A senior official at Dubai Municipality on Tuesday confirmed that a campaign against public urination was launched earlier this week, and any offenders caught violating the rule will face still penalties.

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Abdul Majeed Saifaie, director of waste management department at Dubai Municipality, told Gulf News that the campaign was implemented after the civic body received a number of complaints from residents, urging authorities to create an awareness campaign against such unhygienic incidents.

“Nearly 700 posters have been plastered throughout the city, especially in areas located behind buildings, alleyways, and places next to dilapidated buildings,” said Saifaie.

The posters are accompanied with a cautionary message – written in Arabic, Urdu and English – and are found in areas of old Dubai and central business districts, including the areas of Satwa, Al Sabkha, and Naif.

“This is a permanent campaign, and the posters will remain on walls until they expire and have to be replaced with new ones,” he said.

First time violators will face a Dh500, according to Saifaie, and the penalty will doubled to Dh1,000 if they are caught repeating the offence for the second time.

The new campaign against public urination is an extension of Dubai Municipality’s continuous efforts to maintain the city’s cleanliness.

The municipality’s public cleanliness campaign targets residents who throw waste and cigarette butts, hang out clothes on balconies in certain areas, and also against those who spit paan.

Paan, also known as chewing tobacco, is a small parcel of betel nut, tobacco and other ingredients wrapped in a betel leaf. It is popular among people from the Indian subcontinent.

Dh500 fine:

Dh1,000 fine:

Dh3,000 fine:

Source: Dubai Municipality