The Alkhobar Municipality launched Monday the first campaign of its kind in the Eastern Province that aims to clean up and maintain Alkhobar’s cemeteries.

More than 500 volunteers from Alkhobar, including children and older residents, participated in the campaign to remove weeds and repair old graves.

The campaign was headed by Essam Al-Mulla and several municipal employees.

Al-Mulla said that local residents came up with the idea of cleaning up and maintaining the cemeteries to make them more visitor-friendly.

“The municipality has cleaned up the cemetery before, but this the first time residents actively participate in the process,” he said. “The community’s substantial interaction stems from their love for volunteer work and their collective spirit.”

Their day began at 7 a.m. in the Al-Thuqba main cemetery.

The campaign set out to tackle the older parts of the cemetery first, which are up to 15 years more dated than the more modern sections. The campaign will include all of Alkhobar’s cemeteries.

Al-Mulla said that the Al-Thuqba cemetery was sprayed with pesticides in advance to ensure that there are no rodents or reptiles in the area.

“The municipality hopes to make the graves identifiable by the end of this campaign,” he said.