DAMMAM — The authorities at King Fahd Causeway that connects the Kingdom and Bahrain have shut down the women's inspection booths due to a shortage of female inspectors, according to causeway spokesman Col. Emad Al-Abdulgader. He said there were only two women inspectors assigned at the immigration checkpoint on the causeway lately. The job of the women inspectors was limited to verifying the identity documents of women traveling via the causeway and their absence did not affect routine work. Some 13 million people crossed the causeway in about 5.6 million vehicles in the first three quarters of this year, according to official statistics. Col. Al-Abdulgader said the busiest time for the staff working on the causeway are the weekends and holiday seasons. He said the causeway authority operates all gates and tracks on weekends. Al-Abdulgader said they were expecting huge numbers of people to cross the causeway on New Year holiday. He, however, added that the customs checkpoints do not allow entry of any articles associated with the New Year celebrations, such as souvenirs and gifts. — SG
