Sharjah closes illegal sand parking lots

Our Correspondent

The Sharjah Municipality has closed over 25 illegal sand parking lots to improve the aesthetic look of the city.

Ali Ahmed Abu Ghazin, Director, Department of public parking, Sharjah City Municipality, said that since the beginning of this year, the civic body has organised a campaign to ban parking in all sandy spaces, called ‘kaccha’ parking lots. Some people were leaving their vehicles there for long periods of time, he said. Ali Ahmed confirmed that more than 25 such areas have been closed in different parts of Sharjah.

The municipality decided to close the ‘kaccha’ lots after it was confirmed that there were sufficient number of paid public and private parking zones in these areas.

He added that closures was undertaken after studying ensuring that there were enough regular parking squares in the area. The municipality distributed awareness leaflets for three days to inform the motorists to move their cars parked in these areas.

Kaccha areas cause headaches such as haphazard parking, and cars blocking the way of one another. Those trying to move their vehicles sometimes have to call the police thus wasting their time to address the problem. Improper parking also causes damage to some vehicles. Some residents also use these sandy areas to dump garbage and to discard furniture.

The municipality urged people to park their vehicles in licensed and approved parking areas and to maintain cleanliness of their vehicles.

Many residents said that they use sandy areas as they can’t afford to pay charges for the private parking lots. For some the fee is high as salaries have been slashed in COVID times.

The owners of licensed private parking lots have hailed the crackdown as it will put their business back on track.