Municipalities get tough over Ramadan tents

Tents erected for the Holy Month across large parts of the UAE must comply with a variety of safety regulations.

A shopper buys dates for Ramadan at the fruit and vegetable market in Sharjah.

Tents erected for Ramadan across large parts of the UAE must comply with a variety of safety regulations. Abu Dhabi Municipality stressed that protecting lives during the holy month was important, and added that anyone wishing to erect a tent must build at least two separate emergency escapes.

"Safety and security specifications stipulated by the municipality for tents is a basic requirement of the municipality for issuing permits required for erecting such tents and seating areas," Owaidah al Qubaisi, the acting executive director of municipal services, said in a statement. "Many dangerous accidents which usually take place in camps and tents not complying with the security standards cause extensive loss to lives and properties."

He added that the rules would also help to maintain the "vibrant appearance of the city". Tents must not interfere with public utility lines, nor should they block roads, pathways or parking areas. The temporary tents must also be built on transportable foundations. Dubai Municipality is implementing strict rules for the smoking of cigarettes and shisha pipes in Ramadan tents. While there is no ban on smoking shisha in the tents, permits are required and are only being issued to four and five-star hotels or development areas which have passed stringent fire safety tests.

"There is no ban on shisha in Ramadan tents which are operating under a permit," reiterated Redha Salman, the director of Dubai Municipality's public health and safety department, yesterday. "We issue permits if the places are compliant with the stipulated regulations - there is a restriction. We do not allow the small vendors to have shisha because it is a big responsibility." The tents, Mr Salman said, must be approved by Dubai Civil Defence, which looks at a range of fire prevention requirements, including the use of non-flammable materials and adequate evacuation and fire fighting measures.

Cooking is not permitted in any tent and Dubai Municipality will deploy officers to inspect tents throughout the holy month. Those abusing the regulations face fines from Dh1,000 for a minor offence, such as smoking in a tent, to Dh50,000 for a larger offence, such as setting up a tent without the appropriate permit. Western Region Municipality in Abu Dhabi has no rules for tents in Al Gharbia, where they are less popular.

"We decided this year not to do the Ramadan tents," said Abdullah al Shwaikh, the municipality's public relations manager. "Rather than the smoking and the eating, we wanted to focus on something more healthy, so we're making a football [contest]. We have more than 20 teams between all the government entities, and we thought of this idea because sometimes people are not taking care of their health during Ramadan."

In Sharjah, Hareeb al Tunaiji head of the emirate's inspection committee, warned anyone with a non-inspected tent would be fined up to Dh1,000 and that inspectors would check on the safety of all tents. "We have to be very strict this Ramadan with safety standards. The holy month is coming when the hot summer is still on, it's more certain fires would erupt into the tents that don't have safety requirements," he said.

Col Abdullah Saeed al Suwaidi, the head of Umm Quwain civil defence, said they were already busy inspecting Ramadan tents in the emirate. He said emergency exits should have clear signs in English and Arabic and that a tent should also be wide enough and the lamps not near the fabric. "Most of the tent builders use flammable fabrics and this is the major cause of fire so we have instructed all tent builders to use fire resistant cloth, only then we can give them a licence."

* The National