By Abdullah and Rajeh Al-Abdali
JEDDAH – Residents of Mursalat district, which is sandwiched between Jeddah and Bahra governorates, have called upon authorities to bring them under the administration of one of the two governorates to improve its condition and accelerate its development.
“We lack basic services,” said Abdullah Al-Harthi, resident of Mursalat. “Most of our roads are unpaved, causing problems to motorists,” he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. “Surfacing of sewage has created swamps all over the district,” he said while stressing the need to establish a sewage network.
“Mursalat is a victim of administrative division as its people approach Jeddah for matters related to police and municipality and Bahra for education and electricity,” he said while highlighting the difficulties being faced by citizens because of the district’s dual status.
He said Mursalat has lost many development projects as the two governorates ignored the district blamed each other for its underdevelopment. “We hope authorities would look into peculiar situation and sanction new projects for its development.”
Salem Al-Otaibi also emphasized the problems being faced by Mursalat residents as they have to approach both Jeddah and Bahra governorates to get their things done. “Our district is located between Bahra Bridge and Khayyat traffic signal. There is huge shortage of public services in our district. We don’t have a single park,” he added.
Shayeq Saleem Al-Harthi said the district did not witness any development during the last many years. “The main reason for its underdevelopment is its location between the two governorates. We want all our administrative matters be shifted to either Jeddah or Bahra governorates, not both.”
He cited the poor condition of Mursalat roads, which are not asphalted and they lack street lights and pedestrian paths. Lack of a sewage network is another major issue. Sewage swamps across the district have been spreading infectious diseases and bad smell, he added.
