Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality, Jassim Darwish, secretary general of UAE Municipalities, and senior officials of the municipality, launched the 'Say Yes to a Clean Al Fahidi' campaign.

They also distributed flyers to shop-owners and residents in the area explaining the significance of keeping their surroundings clean.

The month long campaign, which follows a similar campaign in Naif Area late last year, is aimed at restoring the past glory of a number of busy streets in old Dubai.

Launching the campaign in Al Fahidi Street, Lootah said the clean-up drive aims at rooting out unhealthy practices that spoil the beautiful image of the city and transforming the busy area into a cleaner place that suits the name and fame of Dubai.

He said the campaign will create awareness among the residents about general cleanliness by asking them not to throw dirt, cigarette butts and other wastes on the roads and stop spitting in public places, in addition to discouraging the practice of hanging clothes on the balconies deforming the good image of the city.

Lootah said similar campaigns would soon be taken up in other areas of the city.

The environment drive, which consists of several social activities, will be involving people of different categories in the society including residents and traders in the area.

The activities include road shows involving people who are present in the area at the time of the show and long-term social activities aimed at educating the public.

The public awareness campaign also includes publishing and broadcasting advertisements in local newspapers and radio.

Furthermore, there will be a Clean Store Contest, which will run from March 22 to April 21.-TradeArabia News Service