AN urgent proposal was presented yesterday by five MPs to allow workers in both the public and private sectors affected by the ‘Sitra smell’ to be allowed to work remotely until the issue is solved.The proposal led by Strategic Thinking Bloc spokesman MP Khalid Bu Onk has been submitted to Parliament Speaker Ahmed Al Musallam, who has in return added it to today’s Parliament session’s schedule.

“People living in Sitra and surrounding areas have now sealed their home windows and doors to prevent the smell from entering,” said Mr Bu Onk.“Children are allowed to stay indoors and carry on with their school work remotely,” he added. “However, their working parents, older siblings and other family members have to travel through the ‘smell cluster’ to get to work. It’s not fair and in such exceptional circumstances there should be a rule to allow them to work remotely too.”The GDN reported yesterday that an urgent request to dedicate today’s Parliament session to discuss the smell in Sitra has been submitted.

The request has been submitted by 10 MPs led by Jalal Kadhem.They want today’s schedule to be postponed for an extraordinary session on Thursday.Bapco Refining issued a statement on Sunday confirming that operations underway to deal with a leak in one of its oil tanks are in their final stages.It stated that it is being dealt with in accordance with safety and security protocols and in co-operation with relevant authorities, and that the smell emitted may vary according to weather conditions and wind direction.The company praised everyone working hard to control the incident which was a result of a ‘limited technical defect’ caused by heavy rains last week.

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