By Khaled Al-Fakeeh

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

QUNFUDAH — Despite the approval of Al-Sabta project in Hala (located 85 km south of Qunfudah) about 35 years ago, the area remains deserted and lacks the minimum development services. Residents of Hala are calling on the municipality to pay attention to the area and speed up paving roads, providing lighting and managing landscaping. Improving the district's infrastructure will serve the residents and create an attractive destination for young people to get married.

Al-Sabta residents have been suffering for a long time due to lack of services. Without proper lighting in the area, traffic accidents pose a great threat to their lives when they commute between villages.

Ibrahim Al-Amri said that their villages are vast and inhabited by about 10,000 people. It is the last boundary of the province of Al-Qunfudah with Asir region in the south and the main outlet of the Hali dam, which was recently implemented. Al-Amri indicated that their town is famous for the Al-Ani mountain area, which tourists from different regions of the Kingdom visit in spring each year to enjoy the vast greenness and rainfalls.

Al-Amari criticized the neglect of Al-Sabta although it is one of the oldest residential plans in the province of Al-Qunfudah, noting that it suffers from a severe shortage of basic development services.

He said, "I visited the village complex and the municipality of Hali several times to get things moving, but I did not find any response. Years passed quickly and we are still waiting for some responses."

Madani Al-Amari, Mohammed Al-Amri, and Ahmed Al-Amri said that they were limited to identifying their residential plots within the plan, and are unable to start construction inside the sand dunes and next to the waste. They also stressed the need to speed up project completion

Ali Al-Amri, Muqallab Al-Amri, and Omar Al-Amri expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of a health center in the villages of Al-Sabta, which receives patients, especially those with emergency situations. Patients have to travel tens of kilometers to seek treatment and face the dangers of travel. They called upon officials of the Directorate of Health Affairs in Makkah Region to take into consideration people's requests and to work on building a health center in the villages of Al-Sabta providing at least minimal health care services.