As part of the day, Hussain Nasser Lootah , Director-General of Dubai Municipality rode on the Metro at 7.30 amfrom Etisalat to Union Station accompanied by top officials of participating entities including Humaid Al Qatami, Minister of Education, Rashid bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, and Dubai Police Commander-in-Chief, Major General Khamis Mattar, Mohammed Ahli, Director-General of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Khalifa bin Dray, Executive Director, the Dubai Ambulance Foundation. 

“We are extremely happy to see the tremendous public response from individuals and companies. Every year, we are getting more participation and support from all segments of society in the Emirate of Dubai. This year, the online registration itself was four times that of last year, which crossed 4,000 entries. This is apart from thousands of employees who have participated without online registration,” Lootah said. 

“In coming years, we will work to widen participation with more government and private entities to get the maximum result. Our primary aim of launching this initiative is to create public awareness on the importance of saving our environment by reducing the carbon emission using all possible ways in our day-today life, as well as to promote public transportation to solve the traffic congestion that we face every day,” he said. 

“During the day, more than 7,000 vehicles were taken off the road resulting in a reduction of 20 tons of carbon emission which is a huge success and green achievement for Dubai,” he added. 

“We appreciate this great initiative of the civic body and hope to see wider participation of educational institutions in coming years,” said Humaid Al Qatami, Minister of Education. 

Rashid bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, said that the ministry will consider taking the initiative to a higher level and trying to make it a national drive, “as the entire U.A.E. needs such a green drive to create awareness on serious environmental issues.” A group of around 100 employees participated in a bicycle rally conducted by DM Club in coordination with the UAE Cycling Federation, which rode from Deira City Centre to the DM main building. 

An exhibition on different eco-friendly vehicles, initiatives, and innovations was conducted alongside the event in addition to a bunch of art performances by schools and companies.—Wam