Dear friends, Have you ever thought, how graffiti is ruining our environment and the image of cities. Many of us have never thought of this before. Graffiti emits fumes into the air that promotes global warming by preventing heat from exiting the earth?s atmosphere.  Graffiti is illegal in the UAE. It along with environment tarnishes the image of many facilities and public and private property and costs the municipal authorities a lot of money and effort to clean it up. That money could be used on other upgradation programs for the society. The cleaning substances used to clean the paint off the walls are extremely harmful. Most spray paints are aerosol-based, which means they contain CFCs and other ozone-depleting materials if it?s not spray paint, it is petrochemical-based, which means it comes from oil, which carries lot of footprint. Now a day?s even street artists are using moss for their green graffiti as it is eco-friendly and biodegradable, so it is basically harmless for the environment. 

The emirate of Sharjah is known as the cultural capital of the UAE. Anyone who visits the emirate is left awestruck and mesmerised by the rich heritage and culture of the emirate. However, I noticed something in some areas of Sharjah that left me aghast a scene that can change anyone?s perspective on the charismatic, serene and tranquil environment of Sharjah. I took photos in two different areas of Abu Shagara, and you can see that this place has been vandalised by graffiti covering the entire wall (as seen in photographs).Concerns about graffiti are widespread and authorities in various emirates have launched initiatives to curb it. However, the practice continues.

This type of behaviour portrays a deplorable impression on the people passing the area, including the visitors. The various obscene messages on the walls by different coloured spray paints are an eyesore for the residents as well as the children residing in the area. When I asked some of the residents of the area about their views on this nuisance, they told me that the families living there are often left embarrassed when they come across such messages. This creates an open invitation for more littering and other graffiti. The Environmental, Social and Financial Impact of Graffiti is unbelievable. Many times the paint spray bottles are left behind and the toxic paint leaks into our groundwater. 

We all have an obligation to not ruin the walls of our homes. The children get scolded if they even lay a pencil mark on a wall. Then why don?t we treat the walls outside our homes the same way? Just like our home, it is incumbent for us to keep the walls in our community clean. We should not spoil public property.In Dubai ,fines for defacing property starts from DH500 which for recurrence doubles. Shockingly 80% of wall drawings are done by school children so I thought its apt to write and raise awareness on Graffiti.

I request all of you to preclude such acts by first inculcating in children to never damage public property and second by raising their voice against such horrendous acts of misconduct that spoil the image of the city.

I raised concern over the issue and highlight the ill effects of graffiti on environment and surroundings through Gulf News. I also request the concerned authorities to take immediate action against such miscreants and penalise them for this atrocious demeanour.

 You can read my report in Gulf News on the link given below:

http://gulfnews.com/your-say/your-reports/graffiti-tarnishing-sharjah-s-scenic-beauty-1.1550843