MUSCAT: The decision of Muscat Municipality to hold Muscat Nights 2023 has been received with mixed feelings by citizens and residents.
While the holding of Muscat Nights is a welcome move that will fill the void of the absence of Muscat Festival, a section of people have expressed concerns on one of the venues – Qurum Natural Park – due to traffic congestion.
Muscat Municipality had recently announced that Qurum Natural Park in Muscat and Al Naseem Public Park in Seeb would be closed to the public as they prepare the venues to host Muscat Nights from January 19-February 4.
It may be mentioned that during the early years of Muscat Festival, Qurum Natural Park was a popular venue but traffic congestion and chaos on the roads due to lack of large parking spaces led Muscat Municipality to move the festival venue to Amerat and Al Naseem Park.
The concerns of traffic chaos has once again been raised by many citizens after Muscat Municipality announced that Qurum Natural Park will be closed to get it ready for Muscat Nights.
Mohamed Al Amri urged Muscat Municipality to review the decision to hold Muscat Nights at Qurum. “They should create venues that are far from congested residential localities. We already have traffic jams when festivals are held in Al Naseem Park, which is quite far from the city. Imagine the situation if Qurum Natural Park is a venue. It will be a nightmare for residents of the area.”
Naïf Al Sanani said: “I am surprised why it has been decided to have the Muscat Nights at Qurum Public Park. We are all aware that the Qurum area has traffic jams even on normal days. It worries me to think of a situation during the days of Muscat Nights.”
Fatima Al Hinai, a resident of Qurum, said: “I do not know how the problem of traffic congestion will be solved in the Qurum area.”
“When I return from work on normal days, I find congestion. So how will it be during the days of Muscat Nights? I do not think that I will go to watch the events, I will be stuck in traffic jams for long hours.”
Hamad Al Wahaibi, a representative of Muttrah State in the Municipal Council, told Times of Oman that the “Muscat Municipality’s announcement of holding Muscat Nights activities at Qurum Natural Park is surprising.” He said: “Nobody discussed the venues for holding Muscat Nights events with us as Municipal Council members. This is an internal decision of Muscat Municipality. We generally have a discussion about the venues for events. In the past when the Muscat Festival was held, we had healthy discussions to ensure the success of the event. However, this time there was no such discussion. Moreover, the announcement came during the time of municipal council elections. The results of the polls were announced only last week and we did not have time to discuss this matter with the specialists at the Muscat Municipality.”
Al Wahaibi said: “I am really surprised by the decision to hold events in Al Qurum Park. We are aware that the entrances and exits of this area are crowded during the evenings on normal days and during holidays.”
Al Wahaibi added: On Thursday, the first meeting of the municipal councils will be held to hold internal elections to select the vice-president and the committees. The matter related to Qurum Natural Park will be discussed with the head of the municipal council. Usually festival events are held in the wilayat of Al Amerat. I do not know the reason for selecting Qurum Park as one of the venues.”
Sheikh Amer bin Salem Al Hasani, a member of the municipal council representing Bausher, also expressed surprise at the decision. He said: “I was surprised by the decision of the Muscat Municipality to hold Muscat Nights activities at Qurum Natural Park, because this will cause traffic congestion and will cause a lot of inconvenience to the residents of that area in terms of traffic congestion.”
Al Hasani said: “This decision will be discussed with the specialists in Muscat Municipality. In my personal opinion, the solution may be to provide parking spaces for cars away from traffic lights, as well as regulating traffic at the entrances and exits of the park.”
Rashid Al Sudairi said: “We have been waiting for the festival for three years. In 2020 it was not held to pay respects to Sultan Qaboos, the then His Majesty. And the next two years, the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation. We are very pleased with the decision to hold the Muscat Nights as a replacement for Muscat Festival. But how can it be held in a crowded place of people and vehicles like Qurum. Even on normal days, there are a lot of traffic jams. If held in Qurum, there will be less number of people as a lot of them will avoid the huge traffic jams.”
Times of Oman is still awaiting a response from Muscat Municipality.
Source: Times of Oman