Entry fee slapped for using park in Riffa
Manama : New entry fees have been imposed on visitors of a public park in Riffa, in a bid to curb the chaos created by “gangs of youngsters” and protect its facilities.
Beginning Friday, the visitors of Khalifa Al Kubra Garden in Riffa will have to pay 300 fils each to enter. Only women and children below the age of 10 will be allowed in during weekends. Elderlies, retirees and people with disabilities will be exempted from paying the fees. This comes as per recommendations submitted last year by the Capital General Secretariat and Muharraq and Southern Area Municipalities, hoping to limit the increasing vandalism at public parks and to reduce the high maintenance cost at them.
DT News spoke yesterday to Southern Area Municipal Council Chairman Ahmed Al Ansari, who confirmed that the new fees were endorsed by the concerned minister and that they will come into effect beginning Friday. Al Ansari said that this procedure will contribute to controlling the excessive number of visitors of the park and protect its facilities.
The Chairman told that the number of complaints against youngsters creating chaos in the gargen have increased recently.
“They enter in groups of 20 to 30 boys. They create chaos and fight among each other. A police patrol vehicle and an ambulance are assigned every weekend to be in the park to deal with this dangerous matter, especially after families complained about these gangs. Over 300 residents and visitors submitted a petition to the authorities complaining about this,” Al Ansari informed.
Al Ansari also said that the procedure comes after all means to raise awareness and educate the visitors on the necessity of adhering to the rules were exhausted.
“Today, people are cooking in the garden, smoking sheesha and grilling in it. All of this is prohibited and awareness signs that are installed in every corner of the garden say that. However, all of these instructions were ignored by some of the visitors,” Al Ansari explained.
Clarifying more, Al Ansari said, “The Government has spent not less than BD5 million to construct this garden in 2012 so it could be a breather to people. Now, BD200, 000 is annually spent on maintenance works.”
Fees may increase
Al Ansari hinted that the fees may increase as per the request of the area’s residents. He also said that at least 95 percent of the residents support this procedure as it will protect the facilities of the garden. “We are studying introducing an annual membership of BD30 soon. There are around 50 parks and walkways in the Southern Governorate alone, and they are all free. The fees will only be at Khalifa Al Kubra Garden and no similar procedures will be taken elsewhere in the governorate,” he added.
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