Inspectors go easy on Al Ain merchants

AL AIN // Public health inspectors eschewed tickets and instead issued dozens of warnings to business owners yesterday for offences that included a barber cutting hair without a face mask and employees cooking in the back of a laundromat. It was the launch of Al Ain Municipality's Day Without Citations, a monthly event to raise awareness about healthy practices and foster a more positive relationship between inspectors and the business community.

"I wish every day was like today," said Ibrahim Ammari, a Syrian barber warned for failing to clean up hair on the floor of his shop. The Al Ain Municipality inspectors, who issue 6,000 citations each year, strolled the streets with explanatory flyers in hand. During one hour of the day-long event, which searched out barbershops, laundromats, tobacconists, and grocery and clothing stores for 120 different violations, inspectors visited nine businesses and issued warnings to all of them.

"We are hoping that by giving them a chance, they get the message that we are working with them hand-in-hand to improve public health within the community," said Salem al Kaabi, the public health department's manager. @Email:ealghalib@thenational.ae