The Joint Committee for Removing Abandoned Vehicles in the country launched on Thursday a comprehensive campaign to remove abandoned cars and equipment from the Industrial Area, in co-operation with the Public Cleanliness and Mechanical Equipment departments, Doha Municipality, and the security authorities.
The campaign comes after the restructuring of the committee in accordance with Ministerial Resolution No. 178 of 2020 and as part of the efforts of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment to limit the number of abandoned cars and equipment that distort the beauty of the country. The campaign is also an implementation of Law No. (18) of 2017 on public hygiene.
In this regard, Assistant Director of the Department of Public Cleanness at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment Mohamed Faraj al-Kubaisi stated that the campaign started on Thursday and will continue until the removal of all abandoned cars throughout the Industrial Area.
He explained that last year 17,000 vehicles, including 12,000 cars were removed from the Industrial Area and that 5,000 of them have been disposed of and the rest will be as well.
He pointed out that the disposal of abandoned vehicles will be carried out through private companies in a safe and sound manner and according to internationally and locally approved standards. He called on the owners of the cars and garages in the Industrial Area to co-operate with the authorities and remove their cars from the area.
He stated that the campaign comes within the framework of ensuring the aesthetic and proper appearance of the various areas of the country and that it will continue in co-operation with the authorities concerned until the completion of the removal of all cars.
In the same context, Assistant Director of the Mechanical Equipment Department and member of the joint committee Marzouq Mubarak al-Masifari said that more than 4,000 abandoned cars have been removed since the beginning of this year as part of the campaign.
He expected approximately 10,000 cars will be removed from the Industrial Area during the current campaign, at a rate of 50 to 70 cars per day.
He explained that after removing the vehicle and transporting them to the abandoned vehicles collection units in Al Meshaf, Mesaimeer, and Umm Salal, the legal procedures are followed by granting a period of 6 months to the owners. Thereafter, the cars are disposed of through public auction hosted by the ministry or through local companies that dismantle them and use their components.
Lieutenant Yousef Fahd al-Ali of the General Directorate of Traffic added that the department's participation comes within the framework of its major role within the committee in removing abandoned cars during the campaign and supporting other authorities in monitoring abandoned cars and transporting them to designated places.
He explained the role of the General Directorate of Traffic in the process saying that it strikes out abandoned cars from the registration system after the six-month deadline. The patrols also organise traffic during the removal process.
The committee organised last year a comprehensive campaign, in co-operation and co-ordination with all the municipalities separately, to remove abandoned vehicles and deposit them at detention yards. The Ministry of Municipality and Environment has demarcated a site for collecting abandoned cars in the municipality of Umm Slal, to serve the northern areas, in addition to current sites in Al Meshaf in Al Wakrah and Mesaimeer.
