Tag Archives: environment
Throw litter from cars and pay through your nose
Throw litter from cars and pay through your nose Staff Reporter / 25 March 2014 The Dubai Municipality has enabled the public along with officials to report littering and other cleanliness-related offences through the iDubai app. Irresponsible drivers beware! Hundreds of municipal officials and thousands of residents with sound civic sense are watching if you or passengers in your vehicle are throwing out cigarette butts or any other waste. With just a click on a smart app, they can book you for the offence that attracts Dh500 in fines. The Dubai Municipality, which has enabled the public along with officials to report littering and other cleanliness-related offences through the iDubai app, has intensified monitoring the wrong practices of drivers and passengers. “Some of drivers are not bothered about littering or spitting on the road while driving,” said Director Abdul Majeed Al Saifaie. “This phenomenon is more common among drivers of commercial vehicles than private and family vehicles. Hundreds of municipality officials are assigned to report this type of violations in additions to thousands of people who can voluntarily report any cleanliness issues via iDubai app from their smart phones” he said in a media statement issued on Monday. “As all of us are happy to join the ‘Smart Government’ initiative of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai. This is a golden chance for all to contribute in keeping our city clean,” he said. “Hence, everyone should be careful. The driver will be responsible for anything thrown out of his car. A fine starting from Dh500 will be charged for each offence. It is the duty of parents and teachers to educate children about the healthy and eco-friendly practices,” he explained. “We recommend everyone to keep a small waste bag inside the vehicle to put small waste during the drive and properly dispose it after parking the car,’ he further said. Cigarette butts, paper wraps, tissue paper and bottles are generally the items thrown out of cars. “We want to make Dubai one of the most comfortable places to live and do business. Everyone, regardless of their nationality, should learn best practices and cooperate with the civic body to keep our city clean and beautiful and thus protect the environment,” he added. sajila@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
DM wants to wipe out ‘dirty’ buildings before Expo
DM wants to wipe out ‘dirty’ buildings before Expo 2020 Staff Reporter / 25 March 2014 Building Department of the Dubai Municipality intensifies inspections, urges owners to beautify/repair structures. Dusty and dull-looking buildings in Dubai are likely to be a thing of the past soon as owners are being asked to go for a makeover in a new campaign aimed at beautifying the emirate in the run-up to Expo 2020. New or old buildings located along the Metro lines and on key roads are mainly targeted in the beautification drive launched by the Building Department of the Dubai Municipality. The department has intensified inspections of buildings to check whether they are up to the mark according to Dubai’s global status as part of efforts to maintain the aesthetic beauty and positive image of the city, and in preparation for the upcoming Expo 2020, the civic body said on Monday. Khalid Mohammed Salah, director of the department, said the campaign, fielding all manpower at the department including engineers and inspectors, would be focusing on all buildings in the emirate in general and on those in key areas in particular. Jaber Ahmed Al Ali, head of the Building Inspection Section, said the department has issued notices to many building owners to carry out necessary maintenance or painting works or cleaning of the building façades. He said inspections had been intensified in the buildings situated on both sides of Red and Green Lines of Dubai Metro. The department’s efforts have seen positive results as many owners responded spontaneously to act according to civic body’s instructions. The official pointed out that the civic body has high concerns over buildings which are poorly constructed or abandoned midway of construction as they are considered black marks in a city which is advancing to newer heights. According to him, the inspectors at the civic body are routinely inspecting such buildings including the abandoned ones and duly issuing notices to the owners. Al Ali also urged the public to support the municipality’s efforts to make Dubai a beautiful city ahead of Expo 2020 by notifying about bad practices to its call centre 800900 and by doing modifications and necessary beautifications in their buildings. sajila@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Full-throttle photography 14,000 feet above the ground
Full-throttle photography 14,000 feet above the ground 25 March 2014 With an office 14,000 feet above the ground, Juan Mayer sits down with Kelly Clarke to talk about the stomach-churning chill and thrills of being a skydive photographer and his dreams of breaking a world record in Dubai. The dreaded nine-to-five slog is part and parcel of a typical working day for most people around the world, but for Juan Mayer, his daily ascent via a small propeller plane to his office in the sky makes his working day far from typical. With a penchant for photography from a young age, Argentina-born Mayer decided to turn things up a notch 13 years ago, and with his Nikon camera in tow, left his job in the army and took to the skies to become a skydive photographer. Now, with 9,000 jumps under his belt — reaching world record heights of 24,000ft in the process — Mayer reminisces with Khaleej Times on the heart-thumping moments before throwing himself out of the plane for his first solo jump. “It was terrible. Seriously terrible. My only motivation at the time was the photography, so that’s what kept me going.” The initial fear didn’t keep him from his dreams, and after becoming hypnotised by his first few dives, Mayer says he knew he wanted to pave out a career in mid-air photography. “Skydiving is a beautiful thing. When you are up there, you are alone and free. It’s a challenging environment for a photographer, but an extraordinary one.” With the vision of being a high-flying photographer firmly in his sights while living in Argentina, Mayer says he had to “suck it up” and make a few hundred jumps before officially getting on the payroll. “I had to make a minimum of 200 jumps before doing it professionally, but the money made it difficult to start skydiving,” he says, with each jump setting him back $30. Tapping into his inner entrepreneurship, Mayer managed to get the majority of his costs covered by persuading people to dig deep and pay for his jumps in return for some free-of-charge, mid-air shots. And it was a bold move which proved successful. “I couldn’t keep forking out after the first year, so this worked well for me. It was a win-win situation for me and them. ” From Brazil to Venezuela, and New Zealand to the USA, Mayer’s passion for adrenalin-pumping photography has seen him stack up the air miles over the years, with most of the world’s continents checked off his list. Back in Dubai Now the official photographer for Skydive Dubai, Mayer and his team returned to a warm welcome in Dubai back in October 2013 after bagging a gold medal at the 15th Asiania Parachuting Championships at the China International Open. Since moving to Dubai more than two years ago, Mayer’s photography has seen him bag awards all over the world, including several accolades for his videography work, but he says he has his sights set on breaking a record right here in Dubai. “The current world record is 400 people in free fall, but sometime this year, we’re hoping to break this record by having more than 500 people in free fall.” With no date set in stone for the record-breaking challenge, Mayer says he is hopeful it will happen at Skydive Dubai’s desert base later this year, with about 10 photographers tasked with the job of snap-shooting history in the making. Hoping to take the lead when the day finally comes, Mayer says he can’t wait to be a part of the epic milestone. “This is my main aim at the moment, so I just hope it happens soon.” Completing a staggering 24 jumps in one day while working out in the USA a few years ago, Mayer says a typical day in Dubai sees him leaping from the plane’s door about 10 times, all “depending on mother nature’s mood”. And when asked if he ever gets bored of the job, it’s clear, after 13 years that the fervour still rages within him. “When I train on-ground for too long, I definitely get grumpy if I don’t jump for a few days,” he says. Mayer’s two-year stint in Dubai has seen him add about 2,000 jumps to his ever-growing resume, and with only 60 seconds to get that perfect picture during free fall, he says the job can often be tricky, and the outcome disappointing. “People will look at my shots and like them, but I won’t be happy with them. You have such a short time space to capture that image, so it doesn’t always happen. But when it does, the sense of satisfaction is immense.” So what is his favourite shot? Mayer says capturing the expressions on people’s face, mid-air, always raises a few smiles and really sets the scene when it comes to skydiving pictures, but in terms of a favourite, the answer is simple: “For me, my favourite shot is the one I take tomorrow.” So after giving up a secure job in the Special Forces and switching to a daredevil day job, is the passionate photographer risking it all in pursuit of that crowning moment? The answer, according to the “photographer first, skydiver second”, is no. “Believe it or not, skydiving is actually safer than driving a car.” kelly@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
