By Fawaz Al-Ghamdi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — A number of people living in Al-Ajwad district in northeast Jeddah are expressing their exasperation over the inaction of the local authorities after the streets in their area have become strewn with garbage.

Many of them said the Jeddah Municipality did not give sufficient attention to the district whose streets suffer from poor asphalting and several environmental problems. The residents wondered why the National Water Company had not dealt with the groundwater problem in the district and the municipality had not taken any action.

The residents said they noticed a steady increase in the number of residency law violators seen wandering the streets and engaging in illegal trading practices such as selling poultry and meat in public places in broad daylight.

Omar Al-Salami, one of the residents, said anyone who moved around in the district would be shocked at the state of the streets, which are strewn with garbage.

He said this was not the only problem the district had been suffering from. Some of the streets have large pools of stagnant water, which emit a foul odor and have become infested with insects.

«We no longer take our children to the public park and we no longer know with whom we should lodge a complaint. The municipality and the National Water Company have put the blame on one another for this pitiable situation. The streets are filled with potholes and are in a dilapidated condition,» he said.

Mazen Ibrahim, another resident, said the municipality inspectors should run intensive visits and crack down on the violators. He called upon the municipality to improve the public services in the district.

Ajwad residents express exasperation over poor municipal services