Sharjah
The issue I would like to bring to the attention of the concerned authorities and residents is that of abandoned shopping trolleys in residential buildings. A few days ago, as I was returning from school, I saw that a trolley was carelessly left behind in the building’s corridor (as seen in photograph). This angered me as I have seen this many a times.
When I go out to play with my friends in the community, I see other children sitting in them and their friends pushing the trolleys at quite a speed. The children who push are sometimes unable to even control the trolleys, making accidents inevitable. They do this for fun, but they don’t realise that it can prove to be very dangerous.
Even if you ask them to stop, they don’t listen and continue. This can be very dangerous, especially for the younger children, because if they get hit by the trolley, it can lead to injuries and other problems. I have never tried it myself, and I do not understand what is the fun in sitting in a trolley and being pushed by someone else.
Angela Jacob, a pupil based in Sharjah, has also come across many abandoned trolleys in public areas, especially when she goes out to play with her friends.
She said: “As those children are young and do not understand the dangers of trolleys in a corridor, they play with it and could potentially hurt themselves in the process. There’s a chance of a child pushing a trolley, which could then accidently fall down the stairs or could run over another child’s foot and cause severe injury.”
On the other hand, it can also be useful as people do use it to transport heavy goods through the corridors to their homes. But, what I don’t understand is, who brings the trolleys all the way from the supermarket to the building? Even if they do bring it, why don’t they take it back?
I have seen shopping trolleys left randomly even in the parking lots of many buildings. Cars could crash into those, if the motorists are unable to see them, leading to inevitable damage.
How can people be so careless? If they see the trolley, can they not move it? This can avoid problems for a lot of people.
Keerthana Sreekumar, a student based in Sharjah, thinks these trolleys are a disturbance to the community.
She said: “I feel it is very dangerous to keep a trolley in any public place as it might hurt people and when I play in the corridors it keeps disturbing us as it decreases the space to play. I think that people should be conscious and must move it away from the spot, as it can be dangerous if not handled properly.”
I request people to stop leaving trolleys in any public places where an accident could occur. What I feel, as a responsible resident of my neighbourhood, is that the trolleys should be moved away when spotted, or the residents should try to return them to the concerned supermarket. We should keep our community safe and free of accidents.
— The reader is a student based in Sharjah.
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