Abu Dhabi: Stricter enforcement of park regulations has meant that many families are unable to prepare a barbecued meal in public parks, Gulf News has learnt.
The Abu Dhabi City Municipality has been deploying municipal inspectors to ensure that residents only use designated stations for barbecuing. Residents have complained, however, that there are not enough facilities for everyone to use.
“I was at the Lake Park with my family earlier this month, and when we arrived in the afternoon, all the designated stations were already occupied. So we set up our grill carefully on the side of a path. After a while, however, municipal inspectors came along and we heard they were handing out fines to anyone cooking outside the designated spots, so we had to put out our grill in a hurry,” Mohammad M, a 33-year-old resident from Sri Lanka, told Gulf News.
“I understand that there can be certain safety risks. But in the absence of enough designated stations, it isn’t right to suddenly begin enforcing these rules,” he added.
According to a statement sent by the Municipality earlier, inspectors have been issuing verbal warnings to those who use non-designated spots for barbecuing. The activity has already been banned in many public parks, and Dh1,000 fines have been slapped on park goers who have failed to comply, or who have not removed leftovers from public areas, in keeping with Law No 2 of 2012.
Barbecues are most common in the parks along Corniche Road, including Lake Park, Family Park and Heritage Park, or at the Airport Park along Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Street. Residents say, however, that the law is often arbitrarily implemented, and limits the enjoyment of public facilities.
“Because parking is free on Fridays, the public parks are always crowded and all the built stations are occupied. In such a situation, when you have already prepared all the items for a barbecue but cannot find a station, what can you do? Most of us carry our own grills with us, so the Municipality should increase the amount of designated space so that families can enjoy the outdoors,” said A.N., 25, a Bangladeshi resident.
Nada A, a media executive from Palestine, said she was at the Heritage Park about two weeks ago.
“We took our own grill with us and didn’t encounter any municipal inspectors. Still, we had heard of the regulations, and it dampened spirits. Barbecues are a good-weather thing in Abu Dhabi, and the season only lasts for about three months in a year, so authorities should increase the amount of facilities available,” she said.
The Municipality, on the other hand, has stressed that barbecues in non-designated areas pose a safety risk, and encourages littering among park goers, many of whom do not correctly dispose of their waste. It also said that smoking sheesha is not allowed in all Abu Dhabi’s public parks, adding that inspectors will continue to conduct random checks and awareness visits, especially during public holidays.
