JEDDAH: Residents of the Al-Samer neighborhood, east of the Haramain Expressway, were involved in a huge fracas with sewage truck drivers on Sunday.
The disturbance occurred around 1 p.m. when a number of residents spotted four trucks emptying sewage into a large nearby lake formed by the recent rains. Police also arrived on the scene of the brawl after receiving complaints from residents.
One resident, who refused to give his name, said he has seen a number of trucks emptying sewage into the lake after midnight. “The municipality is the body that is responsible for allowing this to happen; they know that these trucks are emptying raw sewage into our neighborhood,” said the resident.
“The drivers say they have been given the green light from the Jeddah municipality to do this. I do not understand how they could make a decision to allow such dirt to be dumped in our neighborhood and bring dengue fever. Why is the municipality looking the other way?” he added.
Another resident accused the municipality of allegedly planting trees around the lake to hide what is happening there. There was chaos when police arrived, especially since the brouhaha happened next to the Haramain Expressway and many drivers had stopped to watch, resulting in a huge traffic jam.
The incident happened when schoolchildren return home from school and workers are on their lunch breaks.
Police separated residents from the truck drivers and managed to establish order. Trucks were seized, and their drivers arrested and taken to Al-Samer police station for questioning.
One truck driver, who was present at the location but not among those arrested, said the drivers are in a difficult situation.
“We are now emptying our sewage in south Jeddah’s Al-Khomra district. In the past we used to make seven trips a day. Now, with the Musk Lake closed we are hardly able to make two trips,” he said.
He added that there is no one to resolve the problems of where to dump the load.
He also criticized people who attack them, accusing them of taking advantage of the situation. “We could force the municipality to find a solution if we all decided to stop working,” he added.
