DAMMAM, 12 February 2007 — Dammam Mayor Daifallah Al-Otaiby, who is also in charge of all towns and municipal administrations in the Eastern Province, said he has instructed all municipalities to improve health inspections in areas under their jurisdiction.
Al-Otaiby said officials had begun conducting inspections of all shops and food outlets in order to verify that the food sold to consumers is safe for consumption. The officials also visit rest houses and food providers in picnic areas on the coastline. Health regulations also stipulate that food such as meat and poultry should be transported in refrigerated vehicles.
The mayor urged the public to report to municipal authorities when symptoms of diarrhea or other infectious diseases appear in their localities so that the authorities could take precautionary steps.
Al-Otaiby stressed the need for strict measures for the timely collection, transportation and disposal of waste. Officials have been instructed to keep a close watch on market places, squares, mosques, beaches and all other public places for the violators of hygienic regulations.
The mayor also inspected major streets in Dammam, Alkhobar and Qatif to ensure that stagnant water left there after last week’s heavy rains had been removed. In addition, he visited the recently constituted control room to pump out the rainwater that inundated various main streets in cities. Already 460,000 cubic meters of water had been pumped out of the streets of Dammam and Alkhobar, the mayor said.
He urged the heads of every local government department to make field visits to the beaches and parks in their regions to make sure that they were maintained properly. He also demanded municipal officials beautify the districts and streets under their jurisdiction so that they looked fresh and attractive to visitors and residents alike. He urged officials to assign the beautification schemes to special work teams.
The mayor called on every citizen and resident to behave with civic sense and report any hygienic violations they notice in shops, restaurants and other public places.
