Printed flyers menace will be tackled in Oman: Municipal council

Muscat: Businesses may no longer be allowed to distribute leaflets or place them in prohibited areas as a form of advertising, as the Muscat Municipal Council is considering not providing permits for the same and is reviewing efforts to tackle the rising phenomenon.
According to officials at the municipality, such actions negatively impact the beauty and the level of cleanliness in the Muscat Governorate and are a burden to the cleaning department in Muscat Municipality.
The Committee on Health, Social and Environmental Affairs at the Municipal Council in Muscat held its sixth meeting this year. During the meeting, the committee members discussed a proposal to deny permits for such advertising.
“The current trend seems to be that privates businesses or individuals place advertisements, posters and distribute leaflets to promote goods or services in prohibited places such as lighting poles, bridges, private vehicles, mosques and places of worship.”
In an attempt to address this phenomenon, a proposal was put out by the attendees to “stop providing permits for such advertisements and to promote electronic advertising”.
A spokesman for Eshhar, a new first-of-its-kind digital distributor in Oman, said: “We at Eshhar saw the need to move away from traditional printed flyers and advertising material and move online. The costs are reduced for the advertiser, but more importantly, there are huge savings for our planet, in terms of reduced printing, waste and recycling costs. Eshhar is the go-to service for anyone who wants to be environment-friendly and save money, while at the same time target audiences.”
Letter of law
Article 7 of the Local Order No 25/29 on regulating advertisements prohibits direct advertisement in the following places: “Mosques, places of worship, archaeological buildings, cemeteries, and surrounding fences, state property, and buildings, monuments, parks, sidewalks, and surrounding fences, and buildings or parts of buildings where the state operates.”
In addition to the phenomenon of leaflets, the committee also reviewed plans to hire a cleaner for fuel stations, tasked with maintaining the cleanliness of the facilities at the station, the road and the shops surrounding the station, throughout the day.
The committee expressed its support to this proposal, as it contributes to maintaining public hygiene. According to an official from an oil marketing company, there were previous endeavours on this topic.
“The committee’s direction on this issue will reaffirm those endeavours and will be in compliance with international standards in maintaining the safety of fuel station facilities.”