Fujairah: The Ain Al Ghamour springs have been dry for two to three years with only a trickle of water filling a rock basin at the wadi bottom, say Fujairah residents living close by.
Unfortunately the springs are still mentioned on all tourism websites, boasting curative properties: "In a mountainous area, over 20km south of Fujairah, the waters Ain Al Ghamour, touch 60C. Cure seekers and tourists flock there seeking relief from diseases such as rheumatism, backache and arthritis."
According to officials at Fujairah Municipality the water at the site used to be abundant a few years ago. The steady decline of the area has been noted by the civic body.
Pain relief
Driving to a natural spring to heal your aching joints is not a decision taken lightly and rather a last resort to finding some pain relief that cannot be prescribed.
Pulling into the dusty lot at Ain Al Ghamour after driving for several hours from Dubai, Nasser H, 33, said he had come with his parents as his mother suffers from arthritic wrists. "It was her idea to come here because we have heard about the sulphuric hot springs but there is nothing here. It was a nice drive but a bit far to come for not much at the end of it," he said. "It's a shame there is no water. There should be signs."
Gulf News watched another family arrive within 20 minutes of the first family and peer into the empty basins and pools, only to leave, disappointed.
A lady on crutches was helped by her family to the first pool, before eventually scrambling up the ragged hill to another basin. Empty.
Not only are the specially built pools out-of use and covered in dirt, but graffiti covers nearly every surface.
The bathroom facilities have broken windows and graffiti artists' names are sprayed onto the walls and doors.
Ali Qasim, Head of the environment section at Fujairah Municipality said the whole area was cleaned up just before Eid Al Adha.
"We carried out a substantial maintenance job just a week before the last Eid (Al Adha), but unfortunately we were surprised and disappointed by the state of the place after the holiday period.
"These are open spaces which make vandalism difficult to control. We have regular inspection visits to all the natural attraction sites in the emirate but we can't have a guard at every one of them; what we really need is more public awareness," he told Gulf News.
Qasim believes the site could be worthy of protected status, the only way for it to remain spotless.
"Turning the site into a nature reserve is the best way to properly maintain such a place even though many people will find that a little bit restricting.
"It is true that, in the last couple of years or so, the spring water has been running very low and not like it use to be. We haven't done any studies on the water source so we don't really know why that is exactly; it could be something to do with the rainfall levels.
"Overall, we're just starting to develop the environmental tourism and at the same time work with international environmental agencies, as we did on Wadi Al Wurayah," said Qasim.
