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Need to save Qasba canal from neglect

ONCE upon a time a Canal that was a joy to behold, Al Qasba is now virtually a sewage tank. Once the talk of Sharjah where you could walk along with a soulmate or recline on its banks under a romantic silver moon, today visitors give it a wide berth as an unspeakable stench invades your nostrils.

Walk down memory lane when everyone talked about the beauty of the canal and fast-forward to the present.

The difference is visible and palpable. Clearly, the Sharjah municipality has not maintained the Canal and turned a nelson's eye to the regular discharges from a septic tank.

Environmental concerns have been thrown to the winds. We don't know how officials can forget to ensure maintenance of this canal. Gusts of wind bring smells from the canal that are overpowering and insects breed here now that may pose health hazards in future.

What chased people away from a place where they once gathered is not difficult to fathom.

As if the apathy and irresponsibility of the municipality was not enough, when day after day sewage poured into the canal, here is another shocker. All That the civic officials did was to put up a sign on the septic tank. When the project started and money was spent to create the canal, the aim was to develop a tourist attraction. Al Qasba is waiting to be rescued.