Dubai: Some International City residents have slammed unidentified residents for drinking alcohol in one of the gardens in the country-themed freehold neighbourhood.
Manouj Aswaani, a resident, was with his two sons, aged 15 and 13, for their evening walk in the small garden close to their building when his eldest son spotted a dozen empty bottles on the grass last week.
“My son said, ‘Papa, there’re a lot of bottles there,” Aswaani, a marketing executive who took pictures of the bottles, told Gulf News. “I felt bad. It was painful for me to see those beer bottles.”
“Some uncivilised people use the garden for drinking (liquor). This garden is just six feet from the mosque,” he added.
When Gulf News visited the spot, Aswaani’s eldest son pointed to where the bottles were found two nights ago. Although they were not there anymore, cigarette butts — plenty of them — remained.
The patch of greenery is one of the small community gardens in the Spain Cluster in International City. It’s situated between two mosques, a basketball court and an under construction mosque.
“We found out that they were beer bottles because the area reeked of alcohol and the bottles had labels,” Aswaani’s son said, describing the act as “disappointing”.
Another resident, who identified herself as Mrs Imran, said her 11-year-old son two weeks back said that he saw some men drinking in the garden and pointed it out to her. But she dismissed it so that her son wouldn’t become too curious about it.
“I told him that maybe it wasn’t beer. But now it’s clear that it is. What they’re doing is illegal. It’s a sin. They’re setting a bad example to the kids here,” Mrs Imran said.
Nilima, who lives in the building right in front of the garden, said she does spot men drinking there once in a while. But she never inspects what they are drinking. Nonetheless, she said residents should exercise propriety.
“They should respect the culture, religion and laws of the country. They shouldn’t drink here,” Nilima said.
When contacted, a spokesperson from Nakheel urged residents to report to authorities if they suspect any illegal activity.
“While Nakheel cannot be responsible for people’s compliance with the law, our security teams work diligently to ensure that any illegal behaviour is reported to the authorities and subsequently brought under control. We also urge residents who witness illegal behaviour to call the police immediately.” the spokesperson told Gulf News.
Drinking alcohol in Dubai is allowed only in designated areas such as bars attached to hotels. According to the law, a person who is caught drinking alcohol or drunk could face imprisonment and/or a fine that is specified as per a judge’s discretion at the Misdemeanours Court.
