Abandoned cars located in Ruwi, Wadi Kabir, Muttrah

The municipality has identified abandoned cars in Ruwi, Wadi Kabir and Muttrah. “The owners of these vehicles will have some 10 days to one month to remove their cars,” the municipality said.

Officials added that the Municipality has already earmarked these vehicles by pasting stickers on them. “If they don’t remove them, then we will take them to a scrap yard and then auction them in the presence of Royal Oman Police officials,” the municipality said.

Abandoned for months

There are three scrap yards in Muscat - Wadi Kabir, Mabela and in Bausher. Residents said some cars appear to have been aban- doned for months. “There are many abandoned vehicles near scrap yards in Wadi Kabir. It causes inconvenience to the residents and companies, as there is shortage of parking places in the area,” says Suresh, an Indian expat who lives in Wadi Kabir.

Though a large number of cars have been seized in recent months, experts said there are reasons that vehicles are left in public spaces without their having been abandoned. “Residents may leave vehicles while they are out of town. Then, there are people who leave their cars on the roads, as the cost of repairing them is greater than the value of the cars,” said Mohammed, who runs a second hand car business in Wadi Kabir.

Many abandoned autos have had their number plates removed, while others have fallen into disrepair. In that case, officials trace the owners with the help of the abandoned vehicles’ chassis numbers. Muscat Municipality normally advertises the plate numbers of abandoned vehicles in local news- papers, followed by a period of time for owners to remove their vehicles. If owners do not respond, the vehicles are then towed to scrap yards.

To retrieve vehicles from scrap yards, owners must pay OMR 30 fine. If vehicles remain unclaimed, the Municipality will then sell the vehicles at auction.