Campaign against abandoned vehicles in Doha from today

The municipal authorities will launch a campaign this morning in different parts of Doha to spot and remove abandoned vehicles and enforce Law No 18 of 2017 on Public Hygiene.
The campaign will be conducted jointly by Doha Municipality and the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME)’s Mechanical Equipment Department and Committee for Removing Abandoned Vehicles.
The committee was formed in accordance with Ministerial Decision No 89 of 2013 with the aim of unifying the efforts made around the country to remove abandoned vehicles that spoil the general ambiance of a public place.
Accordingly, the committee has exerted great efforts since its formation and removed more than 61,500 abandoned vehicles in the country. Of these, 43,202 vehicles were impounded in the Al Mashaf vehicle impound area and 18,312 in Mesaimeer. After handing over a number of these vehicles to their owners, there are currently 25,748 vehicles in Al Mashaf and 8,205 in Mesaimeer, the MME has said in a statement.
The committee had earlier conducted comprehensive campaigns in co-ordination and co-operation with each municipality independently, leading to the removal of 12,000-15,000 abandoned vehicles annually.
Around 500 vehicles of the seized vehicles were given back to their owners after completing the necessary legal procedures and paying the stipulated fines and fees.
These include a fine of QR1,000 in addition to the transportation fees of the Mechanical Equipment Department, amounting to QR500 for light vehicles, QR800 for heavy vehicles and QR2,000 for equipment.
To accommodate the large number of seized abandoned vehicles, a new location has been allocated in Umm Salal Municipality’s Al Mazrouah area. The site, which can accommodate around 25,000-30,000 abandoned vehicles, has already been prepared and is set to become operational soon. It will join the existing sites in Mesaimeer and Al Mashaf.
Meanwhile, the MME recently announced the qualification of scrap-handling companies to buy abandoned vehicles that are not fit for the road. These companies would dispose of such vehicles in a safe and proper manner.
The MME invited interested companies to submit the necessary official documents and applications at the Mechanical Equipment Department in Mesaimeer with July 7 as the deadline for submissions.
Meanwhile, the statement noted that Al Rayyan Municipality personnel have spotted 1,450 abandoned vehicles and portable cabins and issued 214 violation reports, with 27 of these referred to the security entities concerned.
In Doha Municipality, 68 abandoned vehicles were detected recently and 419 abandoned vehicles were removed in April and May from among the 721 spotted during the same period.