The mushrooming of industrial workshops in Madinah's residential districts has taken a heavy toll on the image of the holy city. The mayoralty's plan to shift these workshops to a suitable location outside the city still remains an unaccomplished promise. Safety and security organizations, like the Civil Defense Department (CDD), have described the presence of such workshops inside the city as ticking time bombs that threaten the life and safety of residents living in the neighborhood. Many of them clog the roads leading to residential districts causing traffic jams. According to Al-Madinah Arabic daily, the total number of industrial workshops in the city has reached 1,050. Residents fear the sparks that come out of welding shops could trigger a destructive fire engulfing them and their families, causing human and material losses. It would be difficult for CCD firefighters to reach the starting point of such possible fires because of narrow roads and discarded vehicles. The workshops of car mechanics, painters, welders and carpenters threaten the lives of residents, as they do not follow safety regulations. The paper's correspondent visited one of the workshop complexes in the heart of Madinah and found that several discarded vehicles have been left abandoned on both sides of a road. Some workshops use these vehicles as a support while painting iron doors and windows. Mohammed Al-Harbi, a resident of the city, opposed the establishment of industrial workshops and central business complexes inside residential districts haphazardly. "Authorities should give priority to the safety of residents before sanctioning such shops and projects," he said. Al-Harbi called for the establishment of model complexes to accommodate such workshops away from residential districts, taking safety measures into consideration. Ibrahim Al-Sharief, another resident, said about six decades ago such workshops were situated along the city's borders. He urged the mayoralty to take immediate action to shift them to a place outside the city. Muwaffek Al-Amry, a safety expert, said the presence of carpentry work and car workshops near welders could easily cause fires. "Many of these workshops do not have fire-fighting systems to contain possible blazes," he pointed out. Bakr Al-Yahyawi called for a committee to study the situation of industrial workshops in the city. "Measures should be taken to correct the present haphazard and disorganized situation of such centers across the city," he told the Arabic daily. "We have noticed that expatriate workers at these workshops do not follow safety regulations issued by the Civil Defense Department. We can also see car parked in front of these workshops in a disorganized manner hampering free flow of traffic," Al-Yahyawi said. He said licenses should be issued only to those workshops that fulfill safety and security conditions. They should have enough space to conduct their operations and parking slots for their clients. Ewad Al-Harbi pointed to another important issue. Many of the workers at car maintenance shops are unqualified to do the job perfectly and they do not possess any certificates. "Authorities should not issue workshop licenses except to those possessing professional qualification certificates," he told the daily. "We know many problems occur between car owners and maintenance workers. So workshops should appoint experienced workers."
