JEDDAH, 14 November 2004 — In the joyful confusion of Al Hamra Beach, where thousands of families with small children crowd for rides on horses, camels and mini-quad bikes, lurks danger. The disorganized crush sets the scene for accidents between the speeding bikes and the more stately paced camels and horses, many carrying children.
Mousa Al-Chady, an official in charge of the Al Hamra beach center, said it licenses 50 buggies, 25 horses, 20 camels and more than 15 horse-driven carriages. “The center with an area of only 600m x 200m is too small to accommodate them all,” he pointed out.
“We charge SR10 to make a round on the buggy and SR15 for horse,” said Abdu Muhammad, an employee at the center. He said most of his clients are from Taif and Makkah.
“My main duty to settle the problems between the owners of the buggies and horses,” said Al-Chady, adding most of the operators at the center are Yemenis and Chadians.
He said the municipality has instructed the center to appoint only those under its sponsorship to work as operators.
Al-Chady complained that there was no coordination between the municipality and the center, saying that municipal officials occasionally came to look for those violating iqama regulations. “This prompts the workers to flee and often cause accidents,” one worker at the center said.
At least one accident takes place in the area every hour because there is insufficient space to accommodate the large number of visitors, Mustafa Omar said. “We operate 21 hours during Eid holidays,” he added.
Othman, another worker, urged authorities to provide separate areas for buggies and horses in order to avoid crashes. “There are unskilled children who drive the buggies high speed, especially at night. This results in accidents,” he said.
The authorities have not taken enough precautions to deal with accidents. Hassan Atiq suggested that the authorities keep an ambulance ready at the center, because it is one of the most dangerous places on the Corniche.
There is a municipality office near the center but when Arab News visited the office at 1.30 p.m. there was not a single official visible.
