By Badr Al-Quthami
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
TAIF – Residents are protesting the accumulation of garbage outside a campus belonging to Taif University facility. A nasty odor is spreading in the area and the place has become a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes. The huge pile of waste also threatens the health of students and teachers of two schools in the area.
The residents have been demanding that the authorities remove the garbage from the midst of the residential area to no avail. The waste remained there for more than four months polluting the entire area.
Turki Al-Malki said the accumulation of garbage at the university facility would lead to a health catastrophe. He said the garbage pile would spread infectious diseases as it serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects.
“The waste is dumped in a place between a primary and a secondary school,” he said, adding that it would have a negative impact on the health of students and teachers of both schools.
“We need a speedy solution to the problem,” Al-Malki told Okaz/Saudi Gazette while blaming the university and the municipality for causing the environmental disaster.
Salim Al-Thubaiti also stressed the need to end the suffering of people living near the garbage dump, adding that it has become a playing ground for dogs and rats. He said the accumulation of garbage took place over the past few months.
He said the Taif municipality should have removed the garbage from the place daily, instead of allowing the waste to accumulate. “I have seen a number of dead dogs in the place, which spread a nasty odor,” he added.
Al-Thubaiti said the municipality has a big role to play in solving the region’s environment problem. “It should be part of the solution, not the problem,” he added.
Nasser Al-Otaibi expressed his wonderment over the university’s silence on the issue. “The university has contracted a cleaning company and a number of workers are involved in removing waste from the campus.”
He criticized the university for showing negligence in removing waste from its facility causing pollution in the neighborhood and threatening the health of its residents. “The municipality should also do its duty in removing waste from educational campuses,” he added.
