There are two kinds of monster vehicles currently monopolizing Riyadh roads. They are concrete mixers and water tankers. While the first one signifies the construction boom in the capital the latter exposes the acute water shortage in some parts of the city. The worst affected districts are Malaz, Ghubaira, Shimaysi and Hara or Hayyal Wuzara. They are densely populated areas. It is reported that the city consumes a daily average of 1.2 million cubic meters of water. The 34 percent of this water is specified as ground water while the balance 66 percent is desalinated water supplied through pipelines from Eastern Province. We learned a couple of months back of some works being undertaken to repair pipelines which supply water from Eastern province, which caused a 30 percent reduction in the supply. This is a huge slice from the city’s daily consumption. We should also consider the extra usage of water for construction work, apart from the usual domestic consumptions.
We note that many breadwinners of families have given up talking about the rising food cost or the house rent which is being replaced by the present pressing basic need — the water. A friend of mine who lives in Ghubaira told me that he shares a water tanker with three other families everyday, which costs SR 25 per family. A monthly extra expense of SR 750 for a middle class family will definitely hurt.
In addition to the inconvenience of shortage of water, the frequent movement of these giant vehicles on the road is causing severe traffic problems especially at intersections, where traffic lights with digital counters and cameras are installed.
However, I should admit that many other parts of the city have not experienced any water shortage yet, including Sulaimania, where I live. I hope the residents who are currently undergoing hardship will get relief soon. (S.H. Moulana, Riyadh)
Shooting yourself in the foot
What did Pakistan achieve on Sept. 21 — a day declared to mark our love for Prophet (peace be upon him)? The answer is nothing but scores of dead bodies, hundreds of injured demonstrators and policemen, looted banks, ransacked properties, burned businesses, cinema halls and restaurants. The whole country came to a standstill causing great loss to the economy to the tune of Rs 100 billion. It sounds so weird that one mischievous person sitting somewhere in California is capable to turn a country of 180 million people upside down. There are only two ways to respond to such inciting acts: Ignore all such works and move on, otherwise, any violent reaction will encourage him/her to further frustrate you. Other way to fight back is taking legal and intellectual route. Sue the hate mongers and get them punished/penalized in a court of law which may prove to be a deterrence for others. If required, respond to them at academic level and prove them wrong using the intellectual and historical data. Any other means to rebut the hate mongers will lead to shooting yourself in the foot. (Masood Khan, Jubail)
West’s attitude toward Islam
This refers to the article, “The West must rid itself of ‘Islam complex’ by Mamoun Fandy. I think Fandy has overly generalized West’s attitude toward Islam. When you point your index finger of accusation, remember the three fingers point toward yourself only. The proof of his over exaggeration is in the realities on the grounds. The paradigm shift in West’s attitude toward Islam started with 9/11 attacks, 7/7 bombings in the UK and Spain blasts which were blamed on Muslim fanatics. The subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq further alienated the Muslims from the West because the West was perceived as causing destruction to their already impoverished societies. Most Muslim countries had poor governance after hard fought independence and this created in many what we call “persecution complex” and this is playing out in streets or how else can you justify such loss of lives and billions of destruction of vital scarce national assets just because a lunatic and his small band of mischief mongers created an utterly hateful movie. (Seif A. Somlaya, Jeddah)
Letters — Water shortage in Riyadh
