Amman residents urged to clean up their rooftops

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) has launched a new campaign with the aim of encouraging the capital’s residents to clean their rooftops. 

The goal is to make the buildings look more beautiful than before, Raed Haddadin, director of the building control department at GAM, said on Saturday. 

“Through field visits made by GAM teams and also by the mayor [Aqel Biltaji], we found that many rooftops are messy, so we decided to launch this initiative to encourage people to take care of their buildings’ cleanliness and to ensure public safety,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

Haddadin noted that this issue is most noticeable in downtown Amman.

“We will give residents until the end of the holy month of Ramadan. After that we will issue warnings against those who do not abide by the instructions,” the municipality official said. 

In case of violations, GAM will send a team to clean the rooftop, but the violator will have to cover the expenses, according to Haddadin.

Amman residents interviewed by The Jordan Times expressed their enthusiasm about the campaign, voicing hope that building owners will cooperate in “beautifying the city”.

“This [lack of cleanliness] is a problem typically for residents of top floors because they are the most affected,” said Feras Matahen, a west Amman resident.

Zaidoun Hijazeen, an east Amman resident, also welcomed the initiative. 

“I suggest that they ensure that the installation of satellite dishes and water tanks is done in an orderly manner so that the buildings look more beautiful,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Anas Khouli, a salesman, said his former neighbours used to leave used furniture on the roof, making the view “awful”. 

“They could have simply thrown them in the garbage but they insisted on leaving them on the rooftop. The thing is, they don’t even need them anymore,” he noted.  

Mohammad Kilani, a downtown Amman merchant, said many buildings in the city centre are old and need to be cleaned, calling on officials to find the owners and ensure they carry out “urgent” maintenance work. 

“Many of the facilities of these buildings do not work and they need to be rehabilitated. This, in my opinion, is as important as cleaning the rooftops.”