Dubai gives shisha cafes one-week deadline

They must be at least 100 metres from a mosque and 150 metres from residences.

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The Health and Public Safety Department at Dubai Municipality has launched a campaign to force cafes that offer shisha to remove illegal side barriers. They were given a one-week deadline or will face a fine.

The acting director of the department, Sultan Al Suwaidi, said the Municipality sent a letter to the Department of Economic Development with a list of 125 cafes that do not meet the requirements in terms of space and proximity to mosques, asking for their licences to be frozen.

The law requires cafes be a maximum of 200 square metres, including the kitchen and other utilities. They must be at least 100 metres from a mosque and 150 metres from residences.

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