Shopping malls in Qatar should be reserved for families only during weekends, a member of the Central Municipal Council (CMC) has suggested.
The matter was raised by CMC member Nasser al-Muhannadi at the council’s regular bi-weekly session yesterday.
He said families prefer going to malls, especially during the hot season, for shopping and recreational purposes. The presence of large groups of single male workers in the malls makes many families uncomfortable, it was observed. For instance, in Al Khor, a large number of single workers go to a local mall on weekends, making it difficult for families to enjoy their leisure time.
Therefore, malls should be dedicated to families on weekends, he argued.
The suggestion was debated by other members of the council, who stressed that single male workers comprised the majority of the country’s population and lived away from their families. So, it would be unfair to deny them entry to shopping malls on their weekly off.
Meanwhile, CMC vice-chairman Hamad Lahdan al-Muhannadi was of the opinion that there should be family-only days at malls, while another CMC member suggested that some weekends in a month could be dedicated to families and the others to single workers.
The matter was referred to the CMC services and public utilities committee for further study and recommendations.
Meanwhile, the members also discussed the need to have emergency lanes along highways, especially those outside Doha, to ensure the smooth flow of traffic in the event of road accidents. Similar lanes should exist on all major roads within Doha as well, it was felt.
This issue, too, was referred the CMC services and public utilities committee for perusal.
The council issued some recommendations regarding the houses of locals in the external areas and their legal status, urging the department concerned to work out a settlement for such cases.