MADINAH, 3 January 2006 — Residents of Erwa, a neighborhood south of Madinah’s main fruit market, have complained repeatedly to the municipality about the state of their neighborhood. Haphazard residential zoning, a lack of services and absence of access points are the main complaints.
Residents also claim that city officials have been assuring resolution of these problems for longer than many of the younger residents have been alive.
“We have visited the municipality many times and asked them about services. Every time they promise to do something, but nothing has been fulfilled until now. It has been 15 years since we were first promised that these problems would be fixed,” said area resident Hassan Al-Juhani.
Juhani added that Erwa has only one road for exit and entry, and it is often blocked by parked cars. Residents also say that a number of accidents occurred because the road is elevated.
“We paved the road at our own expense since the municipality did not respond to us,” said Khaled Al-Juhani, another resident.
The municipality had promised to expand the main road and the homes had been bought from their owners for the project. But, residents say that the project was put on hold and some homes were subsequently rented to overstayers after the power supply was restored.
“Other homes were demolished (for the road project) and the rubble left there,” said Ahmad Al-Hazmi. “We have suffered a lot; the neighborhood is shabbier than before.”
Hazmi complained of a lack of residential zoning, which has caused a haphazard mix of homes along streets of varying widths.
“Now we are suffering from another problem, which is the randomness of the neighborhood. We are living in an area where some homes are demolished and others are awaiting demolition. Basically we are suffering negligence,” said Khalid Al-Juhani.
