Fahd Al-Manaee Saudi Gazette MAKKAH – Around 245 businesses located around the Grand Mosque have been fined after monitoring teams discovered various health code violations, said Ghazi Al-Harbi, director of Al-Misfalah Municipality. About 6,320 kilograms of fruit and vegetables, 8,350 liters of various drinks, and 10,385 items such as kitchen utensils and other articles were confiscated, Al-Harbi added. He said over 857 businesses were paid surprise inspection visits during the first 10 days of the holy month. The teams focused on Al-Misfalah neighborhood because many hotels, Tawafa establishments' offices, businesses, and malls are located in this neighborhood. As for street vendors, more than 562 of them were caught and their merchandise confiscated by monitoring teams, said Khalid Basfar, director of technical department at the municipality. 33,000 retail outlets Osama Al-Bar, Mayor of Makkah, said more than 33,000 food stores and businesses are ready to provide pilgrims with various services in the holy city. There are 2,590 grocery stores, 1,245 cafeterias, 400 butcher shops, 669 restaurants, 408 bakeries, 287 supermarkets and over 18,000 stores that include barber shops and pharmacies, catering to the needs of pilgrims. Al-Bar confirmed that the municipalities have dispatched monitoring teams to different districts in Makkah to monitor the cleaning and environmental services and make sure that garbage is disposed of on an hourly basis. “The teams work around the clock to ensure that all businesses have met health and environmental requirements.”
