JEDDAH: As part of efforts to combat diseases, municipal authorities plan to fill all ponds in the city and its suburbs that become breeding grounds for insects and mosquitoes.
The Department of Preventive Medicine at the Jeddah mayor’s office has spotted 1,670 such ponds with the help of satellite pictures, Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday.
According to a study conducted by the department, 87 of these ponds are full of dirty water while some have brackish water, 1,214 are currently dry but can become possible breeding grounds for mosquitoes once there is rainfall and water stagnates.
Other ponds are full of sewage and some of these are situated in agricultural areas.
These ponds are within the municipality zones of Balad, Sharafiyah, Khozan, New Jeddah, Jamia, Braiman, Obhur, Aziziyah, Matar, Umm Salam, Dahban and Thaul.
After assessing the amount of mud and material required to fill these ponds, work on filling them would begin, municipal sources said.
Dengue fever and malaria are the two deadly diseases spread by mosquitoes.
There were 342 dengue fever cases in Jeddah last year and 1,314 in 2006.
