MINA: Tens of African women have been scavenging garbage in the holy sites competing with the cleaners who have been provided by the Makkah municipality to do the job. The women scavengers look for cans to sell to recycling factories and they are doing good business.
The municipality has provided more than 10,000 workers supplied with 46,000 garbage bins to clean the holy sites.
Saleh Abdul Samad Izzat, director of the municipal department responsible for cleanliness, said there were a number of observers closely watching the cleaning process through 25 civic centers in Mina manned by engineers and environmentalists to extend the best services to the guests of God.
He said a new SR795-million contract for the cleanliness of the holy sites during the Haj season will be implemented as soon as the Haj was over. Izzat said the new contract stipulated the provision of more workers and equipment to keep the holy sites clean from garbage and leftovers of pilgrims.
Meanwhile, Abdul Salam bin Suleiman Mashat, undersecretary for engineering services at the municipality, said his department provided 68 garbage trucks with compactors, 246 other garbage vehicles, 58 bulldozers and 230 various cleaning devices.
He said in two days alone, 6,000 cleaners collected more than 80,000 tons of garbage in the holy sites.
