For a clean city

Slogans can make a big difference. They can create awareness and motivate people to take actions that would matter. They can help keep the environment clean and hygienic to make the place we live in safe and healthy.

One such slogan was ‘keep your city clean’ by the Muscat Municipality a few years back, asking people not to litter or spit in public areas, including parks and beaches.

The slogan was part of the civic authority’s efforts to create awareness about the need to keep the city surroundings clean and tidy. Even as the slogan did make an impact, the city’s parks, beaches and streets become victims of littering and fly-tipping.

Maintaining a clean city involves the idea of removing dirt and anything unnecessary in and around the surroundings.

“It is not just removal of the dirt that matters. People should refrain from littering as they are the users of the public places like beaches and parks”, an official at the Community Partnership Department of Muscat Municipality told Observer.

environmental awareness

The information and awareness department of the Municipality carries out such initiatives constantly to spread environmental awareness among the local community urging them to give hands with its efforts to mitigate the negative effects and phenomena on the environmental and health levels.

Neat and tidy public places, roads, and paths do not only contribute to a good image for visitors and the local inhabitants, but they are also a sign of the local civic body. Moreover, it is a sign that it encourages people to keep the city clean.

The Municipality has placed a number of activities, including hanging clothes visibly on the balconies of buildings, as offences that attract a fine.

Accordingly, leaving garbage at an unspecified location would attract a fine of RO 100, while spitting in public areas can get a fine of RO 20.

Grilling or barbecuing on the grass at parks and other public spaces, including beaches, can also attract a fine of RO 100. Those who set a fire under trees or in recreational areas will get a fine of RO 20.

Even hanging a laundry visibly on the balconies of buildings is a violation and can fetch a minimum fine of RO 50 or a jail term of 24 hours.

clean streets

In a recent survey conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov, Muscat was one of the cities rated the highest in terms of clean streets and roads. People in the capital city were found to have been the most happy about their current city of residence at an overall level, with 84 per cent of them stating so.

In terms of recreation factors, sports, arts and culture, the city took the top spot with regard to the availability of natural areas and natural landscape, with 78 per cent giving it a positive.

The Oman National Spatial Strategy is the general framework for directing urban growth till 2040with a view to achieving a balance between the social, economic and environmental developments, which are spatially embodied in urban development.

The strategy also ensures the competitiveness and ability of the cities in the Sultanate of Oman to withstand many variables, as well as its alignment with the United Nations goals for Sustainable Development 2030, as the Sultanate of Oman is among the countries that signed its commitment to apply its principles in all national plans and strategies.

@samkuttyvp