Doha: A report related to spillage of sand and water on streets of Doha by trucks carrying building material to construction sites and prevention measures will be discussed tomorrow by the Central Municipal Council, at its ordinary meeting. The issue was amicably resolved recently following an agreement between truck drivers, sand processing unit owners and civic authorities.
The issue was raised by Khalid bin Jaber Al Kuwari, a council member from the Al Qurana area, who said, trucks carrying washed sand from the two processing factories often spill water and soil on roads of the capital, while driving to the construction site where the building material is to be delivered. Currently, two companies in the state dredge and wash sand that is supplied to the construction industry. Due to the building boom in the run-up to this year's Asian Games that Doha hosts, the two suppliers are under immense pressure and their produce in great demand. As a result, they are forced to supply freshly dredged and washed sand, without allowing the water to drain causing spillage on roads.
The councilor said public cleanliness inspectors from the Doha and Al Rayyan municipalities often detect such trucks spilling water and sand and penalise them by imposing a QR5,000 fine. Due to the construction boom, several such trucks are caught violating the public cleanliness law and hence, fined. This, he said, had caused several drivers to shun carrying such sand or do so only at night, when inspectors were not on the prowl. This, he emphasised, had caused great hardships to the construction industry which was racing to meet deadlines.
Salim Al Nabit, Assistant Director, Al Rayyan Municipality, said the civic authority did not want to scare away drivers or hinder efforts of the construction industry to make Doha a glittering capital
Hence, the municipality had invoked Law No. 8 of 1974 and Law No. 17 of 2005 that are aimed at solving disputes between the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture and violators of civic rules.
Thus, trucks causing water and sand spillage on streets of Doha are now fined only QR600 per violation. The official recommended that such truck drivers and companies ensure that the payload carrier of the vehicle is lined with plastic material to prevent water and sand spillage.
Abdulrahman Al Ansari, top official at a sand processing unit said, six more such companies were expected to open shortly that would reduce the work load on existing facilities and allow them to drain the sand before dispatching it to construction sites.
© The Peninsula 2006
