Makkah municipality gears up for Ramadan
Published: Aug 1, 2010 00:04 Updated: Aug 1, 2010 00:04
MAKKAH: The Makkah municipality plans to deploy 8,470 laborers to clean areas close to the Grand Mosque during the upcoming Ramadan that tentatively begins on Aug. 11.
“Necessary manpower and machinery have been assigned to ensure the total cleanliness around the central area of the city, and in markets and residential districts close to the Grand Mosque that are frequented by pilgrims,” said Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar.
“Various committees have been set up to monitor residential areas, markets and restaurants so that pilgrims arriving in the city do not face any difficulty,” he said.
He added that the cleaning teams and 850 cleaning machines would be working nonstop 24 hours a day. Seven mobile stations to collect garbage have also been set up in nearby areas.
Special care will be taken to eliminate insects that spread dangerous diseases.
“About 200 spraying machines mounted on trucks will be used to combat insects. Sixty-one compressor boxes will be used in the central zone for the speedy disposal of garbage,” the mayor said.
“Several teams will visit markets to monitor the price of essential goods. They will also visit eateries to ensure health and safety guidelines are adhered to and check the prices of items on sale. Samples of food will be taken for testing,” he said.
Municipal inspectors will also pay special attention to abattoirs to ensure health and safety guidelines are met, and livestock is healthy prior to slaughter, Al-Bar said, adding that violators will be punished.
There are also committees to ensure street hawkers do not trick pilgrims into buying unlicensed medicines.
The municipality will supervise the activities of contractors entrusted with maintaining streets, streetlights, tunnels and bridges. There will also be teams to deal with potential emergencies.
