Litter and you could face a fine of OMR 1,000, reminds Muscat Municipality

Muscat: In its efforts towards keeping Muscat a clean city for citizens, expats and tourists, Muscat Municipality has asked people to help them ensure it remains that way, and reminded people that throwing garbage other than in designated areas could see them slapped with an OMR1,000 fine.
The reminder came after the municipality saw people not disposing of their garbage the right way, which caused a public nuisance and acted as an eyesore for residents the area, as well as passers-by.
“You notice that those who have been put in charge of cleaning the public areas under the operations of Muscat Municipality see some people carrying out individual practices that do not reflect a complete awareness of the importance of maintaining public facilities and keeping them clean,” said Ahmed Saif Al Harthy, head of the Communications Support Department at the Directorate General of Al Seeb at Muscat Municipality.
“We normally see these activities taking place during public holidays and weekly days off, and involve people throwing waste in areas other than their designated places, damaging some public facilities, and barbecuing in green areas.
“This causes the aforementioned places to lose their splendour, and results in some people being unable to enjoy these places,” he added. “There are also some people who tamper with property and spoil public facilities,” he added. “Others also purposely tamper with children’s rides in amusement parks, and these violations are in contravention of the laws and regulations that the municipality is keen to put in the guiding regulations for parks and public spaces.”
The fee for littering in public is also doubled for those who commit repeat offences related to this.
“Anyone found throwing waste on the ground, (whether fenced or unfenced) open public spaces, and wadi will be penalised with a fine of OMR1,000, and in case a repetition takes place, this fine is doubled, and the offender is granted a period of one day to transfer the waste to the places designated for it,” says Article 6 of the municipality’s administrative decision number 55/2017. This article also says it is prohibited for people take animals to public areas and parks.