DAMMAM — The mayor of Al-Khobar has assured the residents of the Sabeekha area of the city who are up in arms against the prolonged neglect from the local administration that the authorities were working hard to solve this issue, Al-Yaum newspaper reported.
People of Sabeekha were unhappy with the chaos and infrastructural problems in the district. There are so many dilapidated buildings that are about to collapse and many complain about the existence of a huge number of expatriates in the area.
The foreigners moved in after many Saudis left the district to start their illegal operations, which worsened the situation.
Mattar Mubarak, a citizen describing the daily problem he faces, said illegal expatriates are putting their food stalls on roads making it hard for cars to pass.
Salman Mathar, a resident of the district, censured the negligence of the municipality from dealing with the situation.
“Most of the foreigners are illegal migrants and are troublemakers,” said Mathar.
Tarek Kabisi, another resident, said one major problem is immigrants sell chewing tobacco, which has been banned by the authorities.
“They are causing environmental pollution when they spit the chewed tobacco everywhere, even in front of our doors. The pertinent authorities are responsible to develop and enhance the living condition in the district and solve parking issues,” Tarek said.
Youssef Al-Humaidan, a citizen, described Sabeekha District as an Asian city for its language diversity on signboards.
“There are mainly eastern and southern Asian languages on the signboards. The municipality should organize field trips to check the validity of the signboards and also the storing process of commodities in the groceries,” said Al-Humaidan.
Ahmad Al-Marshood, another citizen, called for the removal of the garbage on the streets that may affect the environment.
“I call for developing the district, as there are plenty of dilapidated buildings that are about to collapse. The problems can be figured out just by a simple tour around the district,” said Al-Marshood.
He added the situation is unbearable and need to be solved by the different authorities to stop this chaos.
The district was one of the best districts in Al-Khobar and many well-known families once lived there.
Omar Al-Jweer, one of the residents, emphasized the fact that when it was neglected and infiltrated by illegal immigrants many Saudis moved away to new neighborhoods.
He said now people are afraid and do not dare to go out late, as there are so many thefts taking place in the district.
Al-Khobar Mayor Essam Mullah said the municipality is actually making many unannounced field trips to close down the illegal stalls and fine the violating shops.
“There is a large number of expatriates in the district because many of them work in companies and factories. Many of the citizens moved away from the district and this encouraged the expatriates to settle there,” said the mayor.
He added that the municipality is actually working hand in hand with a number of investors to move the expatriates away from the city and house them next to the cattle market, according to Al-Yaum. It also aims to demolish all dilapidated buildings as soon as possible.
