A joint campaign to remove all abandoned vehicles in Industrial Area was launched Tuesday. The initiative is implemented by the Committee for Abandoned Vehicles in co-operation with the Ministry of Municipality and Environment's (MME) Mechanical Equipment Department, Doha Municipality and the security entities concerned.
Committee vice chairman and MME's Wildlife Protectorates Department director Saleh Hassan al-Kuwari, Mechanical Equipment Department director Marzouk Mubarak al-Misfiri, Doha Municipality's General Control Section official Ghanim Nasser al-Qubassi and a number of representatives from other departments at the Ministry of Interior and the Internal Security Forces (Lekhwiya) were present. 


An abandoned car being lifted on to a truck


An SUV being removed


A senior official giving instructions 

Al-Qubassi explained that the campaign targets the removal of all abandoned vehicles throughout the stretch of the Industrial Area from Street 16 to 52. Nearly 75 abandoned vehicles were spotted Tuesday itself.
Al-Kuwari expected that the number of abandoned vehicles that would be removed during the campaign would be in the range of 7,000 to 10,000. "The campaign could continue from one to three months due to the huge numbers of abandoned vehicles in Doha Industrial Area," he said.
The official pointed out that the removed vehicles will be transported to the abandoned vehicles unit at Al Mashaf, which has accommodated up to 25,000 vehicles until now and dismantled 3,000. The unit at Umm Salal was opened to serve the needs of the northern area of the country and ease the load on the units at Al Mashaf and Abu Hamour. 
Al-Misfiri said that the committee started the campaign in Doha Municipality, followed by Al Sheehaniyah and Al Daayan before reaching the Industrial Area due to its importance as a key location in the country. After removing the abandoned vehicles, the legal procedures are applied according to law no 18 for 2017 on public hygiene allowing a period of six months for the owners of such vehicles to reclaim them. Afterwards, the vehicles are sold at a public auction by the MME or to qualified local companies to recycle them. 
From the start of this year, 4,950 abandoned vehicles were removed from across the country. Al-Misfiri expected that there would be nearly 18,000 abandoned vehicles across the country. The campaign is aimed at enforcing law no 18 for 2017 on public hygiene.
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