Public property violations in Beirut will be removed

Municipality cracks down on street vendors

The Municipal Council of Beirut has launched a campaign to remove all public property violations in the capital. The Municipal Board also issued a decision to revoke the licenses of all traveling snack vendors.

Public property violations are rampant in Beirut, according to the city’s Mayor, Bilal Hamad. “The Basta municipal garden was bulldozed and replaced by a construction site,” said Hamad. The works were stopped and the developer was asked to restore the garden to its previous condition, he said.

Several violations of public property were also noted in Achrafieh, Chatila, Msaitbeh, and Sabra. “Vegetable stores, for instance, occupy the streets and the pavements opposite their shops," said Hamd.

The municipal council also resolved to withdraw the licenses previously given to owners of pushcarts that sell drinks and snacks. Hamad said: “We cannot randomly give out licenses to vendors to be stationed wherever they want, so we issued the decision in order to block this trend from spreading across the capital.”