Residents of Al-Naseem District in east Jeddah have complained that stagnant pools of water have become breeding grounds for disease and are a major threat to their health. They claimed they have approached the mayoralty to pump out the water but nothing has been done.
They said the nasty odor from these pools has become intolerable and that most residents have left the district especially families with children suffering from chest allergies.
“Despite our repeated complaints officials haven’t taken any action so far. This has worsened the situation. They won’t move until an environmental catastrophe occurs.”
They claimed that the district has one of the highest rates of dengue fever because of the pools of water.
Salman Al-Fatni, a resident, said: “The district has been suffering from these stagnant pools for a long time – before the torrential rain which hit Jeddah last month. The stagnant pools have prevented worshippers from performing their prayers in congregation in the mosque because these pools besiege it from all sides.”
He said the residents have reported the matter to the National Water Company but all their complaints have fallen on deaf ears. He pointed out that an official at the company informed them that the problem falls under the jurisdiction of the operation department and the mayoralty.
He said residents do not know what to do because neither the company nor the mayoralty is taking responsibility.
Ali Al-Ghamdi, a resident, claimed that the mayoralty had sent some water tankers to pump out the underground water but the tankers were not able to tackle a problem of this magnitude.
“The problem needs to be dealt with scientifically because of the high water table in the district. It should be understood that these tankers will not help to solve this problem.”
He said a network of pipelines is needed to pump the water into the sea “otherwise the problem will continue indefinitely”.
Engineer Abdullah Al-Assaf, Director of the National Water Company, made it clear that the company has nothing to do with the problem of the underground water and that the mayoralty was directly responsible. He said the company will deal with any emergencies that comes its way but will not do the work of other bodies.
HUSSEIN HAZAZI
Saudi Gazette