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Municipality readies Makkah for Ramadan

June 15, 2013

Makkah_for_Ramadan

Makkah, Jun 15: Thousands of laborers will be working around the clock to keep the holy city of Makkah clean during the month of fasting that commences July 9.

The Makkah Municipality has approved a comprehensive plan to clean, collect garbage and monitor shops to ensure they adhere to food and safety standards. The workers will be deployed along roads and tunnels and ensure that streetlights and flood drainage systems work.

A municipality statement said yesterday that over 8,500 workers with equipment would be used, particularly in the Central Zone during the month. Additional workers and equipment will be deployed to cope with emergencies during the last 10 days of Ramadan.

The mayor will head the supervisory committee for Ramadan, with the support of deputy mayor, directors and top officials of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.

There will be 28 teams to eradicate insects, rodents, and stray dogs and cats. The teams will have 432 supervisors, technicians and drivers supported by 192 pieces of equipment for disinfecting and removing stagnant water, the statement said.

Municipal inspectors will make frequent visits to commercial establishments and markets to ensure adherence to hygiene and environmental health standards. Public health facilities will be inspected in collaboration with the General Administration for Environmental Health. There will be close monitoring of food shops. Samples will be collected from eateries, water companies and ice factories to ensure they are hygienic. The municipality plans to take 140 food samples daily throughout the month.

The fuel stations and cafeterias on highways and mobile cafes will be inspected to ensure that they are engaged in licensed activities. There will also be committees to monitor prices at markets, kiosks and stalls.

Inspections of slaughterhouses and meat shops will be beefed up to ensure that slaughtered animals are healthy and the shops and workers are following health regulations. The municipality will work with the Agricultural Department to ensure that animals meant for slaughtering are free of contagious diseases.

The committee will take steps to protect people from old and dangerous buildings. Preparations are also being made to tackle any emergency such as fire and floods, the statement added.

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Agencies
May 25,2020

Abu Dhabi, May 25: Dusty weather to persist in the UAE on Monday as well with a chance of rainfall in parts of the country, the national Met department reported.

According to the NCM, the weather today will be fair to partly cloudy, with a chance of some convective clouds formation by afternoon - eastward and northward - extending to some internal areas that may be associated with some rainfall.

The weather will get humid by night and Tuesday morning over some coastal areas.

NCM predicts a wet Eid break.

Sharjah Police issued a weather warning as heavy rain flooded roads in Sharjah's Kalba among other areas.

Moderate to fresh winds will gain strength during the day causing blowing dust and sand.

The sea will be slight to moderate in the Arabian Gulf and in Oman Sea.

Earlier on Sunday, a weather alert was issued by authorities as moderate to heavy rain - accompanied with hail - lashed parts of the UAE. A rainbow in Dubai skies cheered up residents, celebrating a unique Eid this year amid the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic - by mostly staying home.

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News Network
March 23,2020

Dubai, Mar 23: All inbound, outbound and transit passenger flights to and from the United Arab Emirates – home to one of the world’s busiest hubs – are to be suspended for two weeks.

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) and General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has announced that passenger flights to, from and through the country will be suspended from 25 March for a period of two weeks, in order to “curb the spread of the Covid-19”.

Freight and emergency evacuation flights will still be permitted to operate.

The suspension affects major global hubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai-based Emirates has already announced that it will suspend most of its passenger flights from 25 March.

“Additional examination and isolation arrangements will be taken later should flights resume, in order to ensure the safety of passengers, air crews and airport personnel and their protection from infection risks,” state the NCEMA and the GCAA.

Dubai International Airport was the third-busiest airport in the world in 2018, handling 89 million passengers.

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Agencies
July 14,2020

Dubai, Jul 14: The UAE-based parents of children under 12 stranded in India are in a tight spot with multiple airlines refusing to accept unaccompanied minors.

Starting July 12, Indians wanting to return to the UAE have been given a 15-day window to travel back on the condition that they have valid residency permits. They also have to produce a negative Covid-19 test result.

But parents of minors said they are feeling helpless as children are unable to avail of the travel opportunity despite having return permits.

"It has been more than three months since my daughter has been stuck in India. We have GDRFA approval for her but the airlines are not accepting her booking, saying she is under 12," Poonam Sapre, a Dubai-based mother, told Khaleej Times.

Her daughter Eva Sapre, 10, is in Hyderabad and is awaiting a reunion with her parents.

"She is just 10 and it has already taken an emotional toll on her. She is eager to come back and is asking me every day about her return. This is so frustrating."

Barring Emirates and Etihad, other airlines including flydubai, Air Arabia and Air India Express are not accepting unaccompanied minors. With India extending the travel freeze till July 31, normal flights are yet to resume and only special flights are allowed between India and UAE under a bilateral agreement.

Sapre said only flydubai is flying the Hyderabad-Dubai route, and the carrier has restrictions on minors travelling alone. "My daughter is too young to fly through indirect routes," claims the mother.

When Khaleej Times reached out to the airlines for comment, they confirmed that such rules on unaccompanied minors were already in place even before Covid-19 travel restrictions came into effect.

Another Dubai-based distressed parent, who did not want to be named, said her eight-year-old son is in Kerala and is unable to fly due to airline policies on unaccompanied minors.

"I called up Air India Express and they said this has been their rule even before the Covid-19 outbreak. I am appealing to them to re-consider and make an exception during these trying times so that our children can come home safely," she said.

Faced with this eventuality, some parents are forced to fly out of the UAE so they can accompany their children on the flight back home.

An Indian mother, who is currently in Mumbai, said she flew out of Dubai on Monday morning solely for the purpose of bringing back her twin daughters, aged 10.

"I had no choice. Ideally, they could have travelled together, but under these circumstances I thought it best to get them with me personally," said the mother.

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