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Sharjah gets tough on satellite dishes

Dubai - The Sharjah Municipality has confirmed the ban on satellite dishes on building terraces and balconies.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Sultan Al Muallah, Director-General of the Sharjah Municipality, said that the municipality has already distributed circulars to all buildings to remove the satellite dishes and gave the grace period to rectify the situation. The residents can subscribe to cable providers as cable services are installed in all the buildings in the emirate.

The municipality launched an intensified campaign on Sunday targeting buildings with satellite dishes. The inspectors will instruct the satellite owners to remove them within 48 hours. Those who refuse to follow the civic body’s regulation would be fined.

He added that there are many nationalities living in the emirate and each of them wants to install dishes that shows channels of their language. The municipality had issued this decision earlier and now it is being activated seriously. The civic body also distributed awareness publications along with circulars to residents to educate them about the negative impact of installing these dishes in windows, balconies and top roof of buildings. Those who found flouting the rules would be slapped with hefty fines and confiscation of the dishes. The campaign will also target those who hang laundry and store discarded items in the balconies or windows.

Abdul Aziz Al Mansouri, Director of Technical Affairs at the Sharjah Municipality, said that the municipality will continue the awareness campaign by distributing the circular as well as leaflets and brochures to all residents. These publications are in four languages including Arabic, English, Persian and Hindi.

He said that the circular made it clear that anyone who violates the rule will be levied a fine of up to Dh250, to be paid within a week from the date of the violation. In the event of delayed payment, the fine will be Dh500.

Al Mansouri said that this decision shows the keenness of the municipality in keeping the general appearance of the emirate and observers and inspectors will travel to all areas of the emirate to make sure the public are following the rules.

He urged the public to call municipality hotline 993 to report any violation, stressing that the team will immediately transfer the complaint to the department concerned to take appropriate action.

Residents are expected to preserve the tidiness of buildings in the emirate. The scene of laundry hanging on balconies and windows mars the beauty of the emirate,” he said.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com