JEDDAH – Chaos and confusion is the hallmark of Ajawid district in Jeddah as people throw construction debris on its roads and conduct sheep trade and slaughter chicken and animals outside authorized places. The district lacks street lights, paved roads and playgrounds.
Residents have blamed the district’s woeful situation on the municipality’s inaction.
“Our roads have become dumping grounds for construction waste,” said Saleh Al-Shahri while speaking to Al-Madina Arabic daily. “The district lacks essential public facilities including paved roads. Some of its street lights are not functioning,” he added.
He said the unpaved roads have become a racing ground of young men. “We cannot blame them as we don’t have parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities. As a result we can see children playing in the street,” he said.
Fahd Al-Malki complained about the acute shortage of water as the National Water Company rarely pumps water to the district. “Quite often our water meters are stolen by thieves,” he added.
Ajawid was established to be one of the well-organized districts in Jeddah. “But due to the absence of monitoring authorities, it has become a haven for illegal activities. During the rainy season its streets are filled with water and the municipality would drain the streets only after several days,” Al-Malki told Al-Madina.
Saeed Al-Malki urged the municipality to take action against violators of the law. “The condition of our streets has turned from bad to worse. In some areas we see people selling sheep. In another, we see them slaughtering sheep. This happens due to a lack of law enforcement,” he added.
Ahmed Al-Ghamdi stressed the need to establish playgrounds in the district for children. “We have only a few parks and some of them have been turned into dumping grounds.”
Mohammed Al-Ghamdi said the municipality’s negligence was creating disorganized areas inside modern districts. This goes against government’s concerted efforts to change the face of disorganized districts in Jeddah and other parts of the Kingdom, he said.
“Ajawid is one of the modern districts in Jeddah. Many citizens have shifted to this place expecting good services and conditions. It’s unfortunate to see people selling sheep and slaughtering chicken in its roads,” Al-Ghamdi told Al-Madina.
Sami Al-Ghamdi, director of the media center at Jeddah Municipality, said his organization allocates funds to asphalt and develop roads and install streets on a priority basis.
“During the past two years we have established about 100 parks covering most districts of Jeddah,” he pointed out. “We’ll punish those who dump waste in unauthorized places.”
He said the municipality would confiscate vehicles used for selling sheep along the road. He also referred to municipality’s efforts to repair street lights that do not work.
Khaled Maqbool, spokesman for NWC, said his company supplies water to districts on the basis of a fixed schedule, which has been published on the company's website. The amount of water to be pumped to a district depends on its geography and density of population.
“We’ll not change the schedule unless there is a shortage of supply from the source or there was any damage or leakage in the pipeline,” Maqbool explained.
He said the company has taken measures in coordination with security agencies to prevent theft of water meters.
