Cleaning campaign launched in Abu Ali River stream in Tripoli

Following numerous complaints about the environmental damage caused by the widespread and random dumping of waste into the Abou Ali River in northern Lebanon, which flows through the city of Tripoli, Tripoli's municipality launched a cleanup campaign Monday in coordination with the sanitation company Lavajet, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the north reported. 

Municipal and Lavajet crews began clearing the river stream of waste, debris and dirt, starting from the quarantine area toward the river roundabout and the Bissar intersection.

The head of Tripoli's municipality, Abdelhamid Karimeh, and Lavajet Director Brig. Gen. Said Al-Ruzz inspected the ongoing work, accompanied by several members of the municipal council.

Meanwhile, the Tripoli municipal police issued warnings to shopkeepers and street vendors operating along the river and in nearby areas, urging them to stop dumping garbage and vegetable scraps into the river. Offenders will face strict fines, and surveillance cameras along the river stream have been reactivated to monitor violations, our correspondent noted. 

Karimeh called on citizens, merchants and stall owners in the new vegetable market and the popular souk to "maintain cleanliness in the area and along the river stream by refraining from throwing vegetables, fruits, debris and other types of waste, under penalty of legal action."

He noted that "neglecting the cleanliness of the river negatively affects public health and safety and hinders the municipality’s work, especially since the responsibility for cleaning the river lies with the Energy and Water Resources Ministry. Given the many challenges the country is facing, the municipality and Lavajet are stepping in to clean the river in order to preserve public health and safety and to present a more dignified image of the city."

Reporting contributed by Michel Hallak