Brig. Gen. Zaid Al-Hamzi, spokesman for Jeddah Traffic, warned citizens and residents from dealing with individuals who offer car washing services in the streets since many of them are illegal workers.
In an interview with Arab News, he said that last month the department launched a campaign in many Jeddah neighborhoods to crackdown on those who wash cars on the city’s streets.
“As a result of the campaign, we were able to spot 150 violations of car washing on public roads,” he said.
“We will continue these campaigns especially in the crowded areas of the city and the slums such as As-Sahifah, Baghdadiya, Ruwais, Karantinah, Ghulail, and Petromin neighborhoods,” he said. “I also urge fellow citizens not to wash their cars in the streets to avoid facing punitive action,” he added.
Meanwhile, many Jeddah citizens urged legal action against those who, in the absence of illegal foreign labor, have decided to wash their own cars in the streets. Speaking to Arab News they said, “This practice is a health hazard as the stagnant pools of water attract mosquitoes and people may contract dengue fever or other infections.” They added that the water used for washing cars is actually irrigation water.
It was noted that most vehicle owners prefer to deal with illegal laborers because their rates are a fraction of the cost demanded by car wash dealers and they are available in any street. Secondly, these customers get preferential treatment as they don’t have to wait.
Abd Al-Aziz Al-Ghamidi, spokesman for the Jeddah Mayoralty, told Arab News that there are field teams deployed to address this problem. “They follow up on the people involved in this illegal practice in every municipality and deal with them,” he said.
“Our job is only to seize the materials they use to wash the cars and to prohibit them from using irrigation water,” he said adding that regulatory action was the job of the security agencies.
Jeddah embarks on drive against washing vehicles on city streets
