Temporary camping on Al Wakrah beaches prohibited during holidays

Some owners have made renting cabins on beaches into a profitable business, charging up to QR1,500 per night

NT Bureau

DOHA: Temporary camping on Al Wakrah beaches is prohibited during weekly and official holidays, especially during mid-year school vacation, so that families and individuals can enjoy the open beaches, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has said.

The Ministry instruction comes in reaction to the phenomenon of renting cabins to individuals, which has recently increased significantly on the open beaches, Al Raya reports.

A source at the Ministry told the Arabic daily that the Ministry, in cooperation with the Mechanical Equipment Department of the Ministry of Municipality, launched a campaign to remove cabins and caravans located in areas opposite Umm Al-Houl Beach.

He noted that last Thursday, environmental inspectors prevented the owners of cabins and caravans from camping on the beaches of Al-Wakrah, Umm Al-Houl, and Shuwaymsa, and warned them against leaving the cabins on the beaches so that people during the Eid Al-Fitr holidays would not be deprived of visiting those open beaches.

Officials also placed barriers on Shuwaymsa Beach to prevent vehicles, cabins and caravans from taking them to the beach.

More than 400 cabins and caravans were withdrawn from Umm Al-Houl Beach and from the vacant areas located next to it. These encroachments are causing damage to the place, and caused the site to be polluted with waste, sewage pits, and cement floors.

A number of cabin owners took advantage of public beaches and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change’s permission for individuals to camp during the weekend and official holidays on the beaches, and turned it into a profitable business by renting them at high prices of up to QR1,500 per night, the report adds.