DOHA: The Central Municipal Council (CMC) hosted authorities and service providers and questioned them on road excavations that did not adhere to safety measures and exposed residents and motorists to danger.
Authorities undertaking infrastructure development projects that required excavations, included Public Works Authority (Ashghal), Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), Supreme Council of Information and Communication (ictQatar), the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning and the Ministry of Environment.
Jassim Al Malki, Deputy Chairman, CMC, who represents Modern Doha, said he had moved around the city and found many trenches left uncovered for long, endangering the lives of motorists and pedestrians.
“Trenches with excavated earth piled up on either sides of roads often turn into traps and pedestrians are forced to walk precariously along the dug-up space,” he said, adding trenches were also distorting the aesthetic image of most roads.
Councillors recommended a single authority for issuing permits for digging trenches and certificates once work was completed well.
They asked the municipality to monitor all projects that require digging trenches to ensure they are completed on time and the place is cleared like it was before.
Members suggested that the municipality fine contractors for violations and ensure big water lines are not dug on main roads as they inconvenience people if there are leakages. Not completing project on schedule and not covering up trenches after work is finished should be considered main violations, they said.
They asked Kahramaa and ictQatar to ensure their contractors use standard materials and told them to increase the number of inspectors to monitor areas where trenches are dug for water, power and telecom projects.
They recommended to Woqood to deploy three mobile petrol stations in the north as the region does not have enough petrol stations. Woqood was also told to speed up the process of obtaining approvals from authorities so that mobile petrol stations can start work at the earliest.
There have been reports about the scarcity of petrol stations in the country and that some in Doha and on its outskirts are being demolished to give way for more profitable infrastructure development projects like towers.
The northern region, however, has only two petrol stations which are not enough to meet the needs of residents, councillors said. CMC had discussed with Woqood earlier the possibility of deploying mobile petrol stations.
According to the concerned civic committee, mobile stations should be equipped with petrol, super and diesel, each with a capacity of up to 30,000 litres and stationed about 30 to 80 metres from traditional petrol stations.
Councillors also asked Woqood to build more petrol stations outside the city, adding that outlaying areas do not have enough stations.
They told the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning to visit sites allocated for petrol stations and study ways of expanding them or providing more space, adding that allocated land plots are small and one of the main causes of crowding at petrol stations.
The Peninsula
