MAKKAH – Makkah residents have abandoned several public parks finding them dirty and unclean and their recreational facilities and public utilities damaged. They blamed the municipality for not taking care of parks properly after the government spent millions of riyals to build them. Makkah Mayoralty expressed its regret over the poor condition of parks in the city and attributed it to the ending of contract with the maintenance company. "People have stopped visiting public parks and recreational centers in Makkah as a result of the municipality's negligence toward them," said Abdullah Al-Saedi. "Children's playing facilities have been damaged while toilets have been dilapidated." He lambasted the municipality for showing negligence toward Makkah parks and leaving them without proper maintenance. Wicked people have destroyed facilities at parks making them unusable. "I visited three parks last week to spend weekend with children but all of them were not in good shape and their game zones were not properly maintained," Al-Saedi told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. He said Makkah people were not having places to take rest and relax because of the poor condition of public parks. He urged the municipality to ensure regular maintenance of parks as they were constructed by government spending millions of riyals. Sameer Al-Diyabi denounced wicked people for destroying toilets and games at public parks. "Residents prefer to stay at home than visiting these decayed parks," he added. Families who visit these parks have shown their irritation after seeing the damaged toilets. "The government has spent millions of riyals on these parks and it's the duty of municipalities to keep them clean and maintain them properly for families to enjoy their weekends," said Sultan Al-Jamie, adding that municipalities should take measures to protect public parks. "The municipality should shoulder its responsibility in taking care of public parks," he said, adding that many parks have gone out of service as a result of its negligence. Saad Al-Harbi said miscreants have damaged resting places at public parks. "As a result, visitors will not get proper places to relax. Moreover, the dilapidated games at public parks would endanger lives of children," he added. Osama Zaitouni, director of media and publishing at the mayoralty, acknowledged that a number of public parks have become useless due to lack of maintenance. "The contract with the maintenance company has ended and we are now in the process of signing a new contract with another firm shortly," Zaitouni said, adding that the new company would take charge immediately.
