MAKKAH: The Makkah municipality will largely focus on street cleaning, environmental safety and guaranteeing supply of hygienic food at restaurants during the month of Ramadan.
Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar said on Sunday, “The municipality has made preparations for the large number of pilgrims and visitors gathering in Makkah in the holy month of Ramadan and have in place the required number of workers and equipment to implement all tasks.
“The municipality has also set up special committees to guarantee that all the tasks are completed as planned particularly at places where Umrah pilgrims and visitors assemble in large numbers.”
The mayor said 4,664 workers have been deployed and 333 heavy equipment are ready for use. Seven garbage-depositing stations have been prepared to dump garbage.
Many teams with insecticide spraying equipment will be sent out to streets and residential neighborhoods. The municipality has 190 such spraying equipment.
He added that the cleaning process would be round the clock and compressed garbage boxes have been put at different places.
The health committees of the municipality will visit markets to inspect quality of foodstuff and hygiene at food outlets.
In another development, Col. Ahmad Al-Otaiby, director of traffic police in Makkah, said 86 officers and 3,180 traffic personnel would implement a special Ramadan traffic plan, which will be in place on Aug. 16. There will be 300 motorbikes and 251 patrol cars at their disposal.
The roads leading to the Grand Mosque will be closed for one hour during prayer times to allow pedestrians to walk up to the mosque and return safely, Al-Otaiby said.
But on the nights of 27th and 28th of Ramadan, when huge influx of pilgrims and worshippers are expected, the roads will be closed for two hours before and after the Maghrib and Isha prayers, the director added.
