Cough up a fine if you spit

The municipality’s campaign against public littering and spitting has helped reduce the incidence of these acts, says Khalifa Mohammad Al Rumaithi, director of public health at the Abu Dhabi Municipality (ADM).

Citing figures from last April and May, he revealed that littering and spitting violations dropped respectively from 509 to 280 and 99 to 88 in  the two months.

“We think this is the initial indicator for the success of the campaign,” said Al Rumaithi. “These numbers encourage the persistent follow-up of the campaign, and we are sure this will make a huge difference to the city’s image and the beautification of the pathways and the public platforms in Abu Dhabi.”

ADM launched its campaign for public cleanliness last December, aiming to educate residents and visitors about the UAE’s longstanding regulations against littering and spitting. Brochures and notices, produced in English, Arabic, Urdu and Bengali, have been distributed in taxis, residential complexes for labourers, immigration departments and the Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The most common littering in the city is spitting paan (betel leaf with areca nuts, khatha paste and lime), gutka (without the leaf) and green chewing tobacco called niswar, throwing cigarette butts and disposable tea cups. Those found spitting paan or gutka that leave red stains on the streets are fined Dh500. Many building walls and pavements in the commercial area between Hamdan and Electra Streets are stained red with paan spits. The area is filled with disposable tea cups and plastic bags particularly during weekends.

The municipal department has increased the number of inspectors, particularly in this area of the city, with many people being booked and fined on the spot.

“The plans are intended to employ all means, including mosques, schools and public media, to spread the message all through the city,” said Al Rumaithi of the campaign’s projected expansion.

The official further added that the municipality’s efforts to raise awareness of public hygiene have been accompanied by a crackdown on violators, who are fined on the spot. Individuals caught littering in public places must pay Dh200 for cigarette butts and Dh500 for gum and other trash. Public spitting incurs a penalty of Dh100.

“Last week, I was caught spitting paan by an inspector and was fined Dh500 on the spot. Nowadays, there are lots of inspectors keeping an eye on people littering. After that incident, I have stopped chewing paan when on the street,” said Munir Ahmed from Pakistan.

A number of shops in the area illegally sell paan, gutkwa and niswar behind their counters. Both the sellers and customers are mainly from the Indian sub-continent, and it is a thriving business with more than Dh1,000 daily returns.

Abdul Kalam from Bangaldesh, was also caught and fined Dh500 for spitting paan. He said: “On Thursday afternoon, I was caught by an inspector near Alam Supermarket while spitting paan. He was in civilian dress so I refused to pay the fine. But I had to pay the fine after he showed me his ID card that proved he was a municipality inspector,” he explained.

Paan sellers

One of the paan and gutka sellers, who identified himself as MA, told Khaleej Times that he makes more money on these tobacco products than other consumer goods in the shop.

“You see all these small shops sell shoes or perfumes, but their main business is tobacco products that you cannot see displayed. I have permanent customers for paan who have their daily orders. I make more than Dh1,000 a day from these orders alone in addition to income from general customers,” he explained.

news@khaleejtimes.com