The penalty will be borne by the owner of the vehicle and not the cleaner.

A total of 681 car owners were fined in the last quarter for having their vehicles cleaned in public spaces, streets, and residential areas, according to the Sharjah Municipality.



As the municipality clamped down on illegal car-washing, it has stiffened the penalty from Dh250 to Dh500, a violation that is borne by the owner of the vehicle and not the cleaner. Washing cars irresponsibly pollutes the environment and thus must be strictly done in assigned places, it said.



Despite such incidents, the office said there had been a significant decrease in the number of violations compared to the same period last year, Mohammed Al Kabbi, head of the cleanliness section at Sharjah Municipality, told Khaleej Times, adding that the awareness campaigns, inspections, and tougher regulations were paying off.



"The intensified inspection revealed that watchmen, illegal workers, and some others who are free in the evening wash the cars of their building residents and also of those traveling outside the country for long periods," Al Kabbi said.



Round-the-clock inspections will continue, targeting illegal car-washing, along with abandoned cars, both of which disrupt the image of the city and cause health and safety hazards.



Aside from sanitary concerns, Al Kabbi also explained that the practice exposes the car owner to theft like in the case of a woman who lost her laptop. Cameras later showed that the thief was the person she hired to wash her car for Dh100 a month.



Cleaning cars in undesignated spaces has also hurt the legitimate stations with the proper facilities to wash vehicles and recycle wastewater in a professional and environment-friendly way, he said.



afkarali@khaleejtimes.com