Abu Dhabi Municipality cracks down on illegal markets

Vendors in Al Wathba and Al Rais fined

Three tons of consumables, foodstuffs and clothing were seized by the Municipality. Abu Dhabi City Municipality

Government officials confiscated 3 tons of “consumables, foodstuffs, clothing, various commodities, fruits and vegetables” and issued 10 illegal sales offences as part of a crackdown on unlicensed street markets.

A number of agencies – including the Abu Dhabi Police, Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre (Tadweer), Red Crescent, Preservation of Grace, Al Sahraa Transport Company – teamed up with the Abu Dhabi Municipality to carry out the raids in Al Wathba and Al Rais.

This campaign is meant to reduce “all forms of eyesores,” and protect consumers by ensuring the “highest environmental and health standards for goods handling,” the municipality said.

The municipality said there has been an apparent decline in the number of street vendors and random markets in the capital, which it attributed to the success of campaigns in raising the public awareness of these negative practices.

"It is also a result of the inspection and control program imposed by the inspection teams and strategic partners to curb these markets and eliminate them," it said.