Samer, east of the Haramain Expressway, is one of the worst-hit neighborhoods in the Jan. 26 flood, and residents complain that their roads are still filthy with silt and dirt deposited by flood waters besides being cracked and filled with potholes because the municipality neglected the neighborhood.
Officials of district centers were also present at the meeting. Residents said they lodged a number of complaints about the muddied streets, ruined roads, unusable garbage boxes, damaged sidewalks with the authorities, but no positive response was forthcoming. They also demanded immediate examination of their houses by experts to guarantee the safety of the buildings as they have suffered the onslaught of many flash floods.
The Municipal Council, however, pacified the residents of Samer and Tawfeeq, promising quick measures and lasting solutions to all issues.
“All demands made by the residents are genuine and need urgent solutions. And, of course, the council is with them,” council member Bassam Akhdar told Arab News. He said he hoped all issues in the neighborhoods east of the Haramain Expressway in particular and the city in general would be resolved soon.
“A lasting solution would be found for the check dam that poses a threat to the safety of the neighborhood with the implementation of the recommendations of the high-power ministerial committee that studied the situation in the flood-hit Jeddah. The committee’s recommendations include the appointment of a consultancy to identify the districts that are vulnerable to flood threats, he said.
One of the priorities of the committee would be to find a radical solution to the check dam, which has been a nightmare to residents of nearby districts, he said.
“The residents have a reason to be worried because the dam was built after filling a huge pit with building debris, which is according to experts the cause of the rising underground water in Samer district,” he said.
Wondering at the logic of issuing permits to large residential plots in floodwater courses, the member demanded that all houses close to Samer dam should be evacuated and acquired by the government.
He said the dam would remain a threat if water flows to it from the Aslah valley and it required scientific studies by international experts to keep water away from it, he said.
Regarding the residents’ complaints against the council, the member said: “The council did not stop its activities like holding meetings and making recommendations. But we go to the people to see their issues firsthand and arrange necessary relief and assistance from agencies concerned. We also strive our maximum to take the worries and problems of the citizens to the authorities.”
He added that the council used to be in the midst of the people when any calamity hit them.
“We were with the residents of Umm Al-Khair when the disaster hit them and we provided them all possible assistance until the Civil Defense arrived. We left only after we were assured that all rescue plans were fully operational,” he said.
The council members were with the people of Samer and Tawfeeq districts when they were in distress, he added.
