The head of a private company taking over Sharjah's waste collection from municipal authorities has promised cleaner streets by the end of the year.
Samer Kamal, the managing director of Bee'ah, responded yesterday to complaints from residents that streets filled with rubbish had become breeding grounds for rats and other vermin.
One area that generated complaints is Shuwayhen, which Bee'ah has not yet assumed responsibility for. It is one of eight remaining sections of the city the company is due to take over before the end of the year.
"This is only a matter of a few months," Mr Kamal said. "There is going to be an improvement."
The municipality has divided Sharjah into 12 waste-collection areas. Bee'ah took over Al Khan and Al Majaz in mid-January, and has been granted two other densely populated areas.
"We try at first to take over areas that have the most people," Mr Kamal said. "We have four of the 12 areas but they represent almost 60 per cent of the population."
Mr Kamal said it would have been "irresponsible" for the company to take on the whole of Sharjah at once. Despite this week's complaints, the company would not speed up the takeover, he said.
"The issue is we have a plan we are sticking to, so we can deliver the same quality of service for everybody," he said. "We need to stay the course."
Sharjah Municipality has a stake in Bee'ah, which is a public-private partnership. On Monday, Sultan al Mualla, the director general of the municipality, said hygiene was a top priority. He said Bee'ah should not be blamed for the problems, as it was in the initial stages of reorganising the emirate's waste system.
When the takeover is complete, Bee'ah will manage employees and equipment as well as add new machines and training staff. The company has 100 waste-collection trucks and 65 sweepers, 52 of them new, with plans to expand the fleet to 220 vehicles by the end of the year.
Bee'ah also plans to do most of its garbage collection and cleaning at night, so that it will not disturb residents or disrupt traffic.
Bee'ah plans to add more rigorous cleaning operations to certain parts of the city, as needed.
"The first thing we do is understand what parts of an area are going to be more of a challenge," he said. "We then do an initial clean-up so we can establish a baseline."
Under the company's plans, each street is to be swept either once or twice a week. Waste-collection vehicles will be sent out one to three times a day, depending on how much waste is generated in an area.
Bee'ah also runs a recycling programme. So far it has placed 1,500 recycling bins on the streets.
The company has set up a toll-free number - 800-Tandeef - for residents to give feedback on street cleaning.
Even as the new system comes into effect, Mr Kamal stressed that residents must still take responsibility for their neighbourhoods - as littering remains a problem in some areas.
"We are working with the municipality so that littering becomes an offense you get a ticket for," he said. "This is a process and we are waiting to see it to completion."
vtodorova@thenational.ae
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410
Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Company%C2%A0profile
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
