Bakheet Al- Rasheedi

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 18: Oil Minister and Minister of Electricity and Water Bakheet Al- Rasheedi was recently quoted as saying the oil sector will produce 1,500 megawatts of solar cells before the end of this year, reports Al-Anba daily.In a press statement Al-Rasheedi said the Ministry of Electricity and Water is keen to achieve this goal. He pointed out the ministry has formed a committee under his chairmanship comprising members from several government agencies including the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), the Kuwait University, the oil sector and others to ensure the target is achieved on schedule.Al-Rasheedi added the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) has implemented this vital project in the Shaqaya area. The project has been launched with 10 megawatt wind power and 10 megawatt of solar energy. The third project will be operated by the end of this year. Al-Rasheedi went on to say the committee has addressed all government agencies to include all renewable energy sources in its future construction projects using solar power as much as possible of the total electricity required for the project.Meanwhile, the dead fish phenomenon has ‘resurfaced’. Dead fish was seen washed ashore on the East Doha coast, but the reason this time is believed to be different, reports Al-Rai daily.In recent years, the dead fish surfaced due to several reasons including severe heat or water pollution or even because of the increase in the proportion of organic substances that affect the rate of oxygen in water, but this time around the reason is termed ‘deliberate act’. An official source at the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) confirmed the Authority had spotted hundreds of fishes on the shore of East Doha next to the chalets, which turned out later that some young men who are fishing illegally in cooperation with a group of expatriate fishermen throw dead or undesirable fish on the beach, a behavior which prompted a citizen to take pictures and show the same as ‘dead fish’.The source pointed out that the PAAAFR in cooperation with the Coast Guard and the Ministry of Interior will seek permission from the Public Prosecution to raid the suspicious chalets and arrest the violators for contaminating the environment and look for illegal fishermen who dump the waste on the beach. The Authority also called on the owners of the chalets to pay attention to the the actions of those who hire their chalets to avoid legal accountability. On the other hand, an official source at the Environment Public Authority said it is not the dead fish phenomenon that has come to haunt the consumers.However, results are awaited from samples of dead fish taken by the concerned authorities, which are expected to clear the water in two days time. At the same time sources said the conclusions arrived at by the PAAAFR must be taken into consideration. The sources pointed out PAAAFR is responsible for monitoring the sea and beaches of Kuwait and keep a tab on the activity of fishing trawlers, including over fishing and punish those who are found guilty and those who contaminate the beach. The EPA had called on the Ministry of Finance several times to issue citations against the chalet owners who do not abide by the terms of the contracts concluded with state property department but exploit them for other purposes. “The fishermen cannot dump undesirable dead fish on the beach simply because fishing is forbidden in this area”, said the head of the Kuwait Fishermen’s Union, Zaher Al-Souyan. Head of the Kuwaiti diving team, Walid Al-Fadhel attributed the dead fish to the high temperature, malpractices and dumping waste into the sea.