A large number of securitymen have been deployed in the area to avoid any disruption in the disconnection process in the wake of objections raised by a section of citizens, according to a report on Thursday in Al-Madinah Arabic daily.
Some Saudi property owners in the area are still refusing to leave their properties even though they had been served eviction notices a month ago. The Commission for the Development of Makkah and the Holy Sites had notified property owners earlier that electricity and other services to the properties would be cut from Oct. 27. As a follow up, the Umm Al-Qura Development Company, which is implementing the project, had also alerted them after extending the deadline for power disconnection and starting demolition works.
The company has also entrusted a specialist team to make aware of the local residents, both citizens and expatriates, about the vital significance of the road project, as well as to persuade them to extend full cooperation in implementing the project.
The company has already started demolition of properties expropriated for the purpose. It assured the residents along the road project that their rights would be fully protected. The company also promised special allowances for those with difficult living conditions, as well as transportation facilities for those residents who do not have vehicles.
However, some citizens are still objecting to leave their residential buildings until they are given full compensation and protection of other rights.
A number of affected citizens spoke about their difficult situations after serving notice for eviction. Muhammad Al-Zahrani, a resident of Al-Rusaifa, lauded the efforts to make Makkah the most beautiful city in the world, “but this should not be done through creating scapegoats and victims. We are facing a lot of difficulties after the company asked us to leave the place at once. The company has not given us at least three-month time for eviction so that we can find out suitable alternative places,” he said.
Ali Al-Zahrani, another resident, said that the compensation fixed by the company is too little to buy another property. “I received SR306,000 in compensation. I earlier bought an old house after taking loan from a local bank. I saved nothing from the compensation after clearing the bank loan. Now, I rented a house. I have to find money to pay rent as well as to feed my seven children,” he said. Al-Zahrani complained that the company had not responded positively to their request to re-estimate the value of properties and increase compensation. Hussein Aseeri, a resident of Al-Zaharain district, said that several poor people in the region, including widows and orphans, are the worst victims of this eviction, and that the compensation is quite insufficient to find out alternative residences.
Ahamd Aseeri, a retired policeman, says that they have been denied justice by fixing low compensation that is quite inadequate to find suitable housing. He expressed unhappiness over the prospect of leaving their residence in the neighborhood of the Haram where they have been living for decades and then move to an unspecified locality far away from the Grand Mosque. His uncle Hassan Aseeri says that he is going to receive a compensation of SR1 million for a three-storey house for which the actual market value is at least SR5 million, he said.
King Abdul Aziz Road, which will be constructed parallel to the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway, is the second largest traffic project in Makkah passing through Al-Hindawi and Al-Tindbawi districts on a total area of 1.17 million square meters. The planned monorail network is designed to pass through this road, in addition to pedestrian tunnels leading to the Haram. The project, located in southern Makkah, starts from the entrance to the holy city and ends at Jabl Omar adjacent to the Haram Mosque. It will cover seven old districts of the city.
Power being cut to buildings acquired for project
Publication Date:
Fri, 2010-12-17 00:05
old inpro:
Taxonomy upgrade extras:
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.