AMMAN — The Environmental Police Department has, for the first time, penalized pedestrians in the newly-opened Wakalat Street for littering. Police personnel issued tickets to two citizens for throwing rubbish in the street as part of the department’s efforts to keep the country’s streets free of pollution,” Director of the Environmental Police Department (EPD) Colonel Abdullah Abdullat told The Jordan Times. He said citizens should enjoy their right to clean streets, especially those designated for pedestrians and shopping.
Earlier this week, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) opened Wakalat Street in Sweifieh, the first in the capital designed exclusively for pedestrians.
As part of the JD850,000 project, GAM paved 17,000 square metres with coloured tiles, posted maps on the street’s entrances and built a kiosk to provide services to visitors.
The street is one of the venues for activities of the Amman Summer Festival, organised by the Tourism Ministry in cooperation with Jordan Tourism Board, to provide summer-long entertainment for citizens and tourists.
According to Abdullat, the EPD registered 4,192 environmental violations since the beginning of the year, 1,586 of them in the agricultural and animal production and public health sectors.
The department also recorded 1,459 infringements in vehicle gas emissions, 571 in factories, industrial facilities and quarries and 93 cases of wild and marine life abuse.
“On Tuesday, we registered three cases of marine life abuse; the violators will be fined up to JD25,000 and jailed for a period ranging between six to 12 months,” Abdullat said.
Other breaches included 33 cases of illegal logging, he noted, adding that the violators will be fined amounts ranging from JD20 to JD1,000 and face jail sentences from one to six months.
The Abdoun-based department handles offences and issues related to smog, water pollution, littering, tree cutting and illegal hunting.
It will also be responsible for inspecting factories, industrial zones and picnic areas and fining violators of environmental laws.
Earlier this month, a Public Security Department helicopter started inspecting industrial facilities in environmental hot spots in the country to help the environmental police monitor violations.
Three times a month, the helicopter flies over hot spots in Ajloun, Sahab, the Jordan Valley and Zarqa, which is home to more than 50 per cent of the country’s industrial facilities. It monitors emissions from these facilities and littering and reports violations to the environmental police.
By Hana NamrouqaArticle originally published by Jordan Times 27-Jul-07
1 comment:
Wakalat street is one of the Sweifya street. It is only used by pedestrians. It contains all kind of shops, restaurant and cafes. As you can see it is very beautiful in winter and summer.
For more please visit www.wakalatstreet.com
Ciao
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