JEDDAH: Residents in Jeddah complain of foul-smelling water polluting the streets in various districts, making it hard for people to walk on those roads and posing a health hazard.
Some of the areas with stagnant sewage water are roads in the Aziziah, Palestine and Bani Malik districts.
“The sewage problem has been around for a couple of months now,” said Ali Akhtar, a resident in the Aziziah district.
“The concerned authority needs to do something about it, because it is polluting the environment and affecting the residents living in those areas,” added Akhtar.
Several residents of these streets said that despite the numerous complaints filed about sewage problems, the concerned authority seemed to turn a blind eye on the issues.
Shoukat Naseem, another resident in the Aziziah district, said that the stench of the sewage water is unbearable for the passersby and threatening to the residents living in such foul-smelling waters.
In some areas of Jeddah, sewage water has been seen bubbling out of manholes and flowing down the roads. Residents living in such areas fear that when it rains and eventually floods, the rainwater mixed with the sewage water might gush into their homes. “It is ridiculous that such a rich country is unable to maintain proper drainage systems,” said Sofia Yasser, a Yemeni housewife residing in the Bani Malik area.
Yasser said it is awful to see children as young as four years old wading through that sewage.
“By letting the sewage water flow, we are also inviting mosquitoes to breed,” said Yasser.
Earlier this month, Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al-Husain signed 26 contracts covering several water and sewage projects, in various parts of the Kingdom, worth more than SR 735 million.
Sewage water overwhelms residents
