101kg of paan, 155 tonnes of rotten food destroyed in Dubai

Municipality inspectors also rounded up 1,872 peddlers and 236 beggars as part of its year-long campaign

 

Dubai: Despite rigid rules, street vendors continue to sell banned products and harmful goods to the public.

The municipality revealed on Tuesday that in the first 10 months of 2016, it has so far confiscated and destroyed as much as 101 kilograms of betel leaves (also known as paan), 155 tonnes of food that was unfit for human consumption, rounded up 1,872 street vendors that were found selling goods without a license, and deported 236 beggars.

“The most serious violations involved a merchant who made his living by selling sick palm leaves to farmers. The sick palm leaves would then infect the other trees, resulting in great financial losses for farmers who specialised in selling dates,” said Faisal Al Baidawi, Head of the Markets Management Section of Dubai Municipality's Assets Management Department.    

“Thousands of harmful goods were seized because they were either banned products or items that jeopardised the public’s health,” he said.

The crackdown on illegal products and beggars were carried out by Dubai Municipality in coordination with Dubai Police and the Ministry of Labour.

Al Baidawi pointed out that rotten food were mainly sold at workers’ accommodations in the industrial areas of Al Qusais and Al Quoz. Within the same vicinity, municipal inspectors also confiscated 97 unhealthy palm trees, 554 accessories that posed a threat to the safety of consumers, and 162 carts.

He said that with the help of Dubai Police’s CID, raids were also carried out across various locations where offenders were known to gather, and were caught red-handed.

A further 23,719 items and 246 counterfeit products were also seized during the 5,942 inspections that were carried out throughout the year.