The Makkah Municipal Corporation has engaged 20,500 workers to keep the holy city neat and clean during the upcoming Haj season. They include engineers, technical staff, skilled labor and others and they will work round the clock in shifts. Garbage trucks numbering 670, auto cleaning machines, dumpers and other appliances have been provided to them to provide a healthy environment to the expected three million pilgrims this year, Dr. Osama Fadhl Al-Bar, Makkah Mayor and a member of the Central Haj Committee, said here on Sunday. The municipal corporation has launched an extensive plan to provide the best possible facilities to the pilgrims, he said. About 200 compressor garbage storage tanks have been placed around the Holy Mosque to suppress any bad odor and do ward off any possibility of epidemic. Between Dhul Hijjah 6 to 15, 6,000 labor force shall clean the holy sites round the clock with a fleet of 620 garbage trucks, small tractors and other cleaning appliances. About 900 compressor garbage storage tanks and 131 ground storage tanks have been placed in the holy sites which can hold up to 15,000 tons of compressed garbage. The garbage will be disposed of daily. Specially designed auto-cleaners and sweepers along with small tractors will be used to clean the Jamarat area during the pelting ritual. Spraying machines to kill insecticides fixed on pickups are already on active duty in the city. All stagnant pools of water are being cleared to prevent breeding of mosquitoes. These machines will also be deployed in the holy sites between Dhul Hijjah 6 and 15, Al-Bar said. Measures for butcheries The civil authorities have taken special precautions for the import of animals before they enter the holy sites. To maintain hygiene and sanitation standards, enclosures have been built for 900,000 goats and sheep and 15,000 camels in Mina area close to the nine butcheries. The dung, bellies and other unused parts of the sacrificed animal will be lifted and burned in furnaces attached with the abattoirs. No cooking allowed No gas or kerosene stoves are allowed in the holy sites. Moreover, sale of cooked rice here has been banned. Over 500 shops have been authorized to sell prepared meal in packets and canned food items, the mayor said. Hygienic shaving Around Jamarat the municipality has allowed 1,100 chairs for ritual shaving with sterilized blades and machines. These blades and machines will be inspected periodically to ensure hygienic conditions are met in total, the mayor said. Emergency measures To meet any emergency situation, the municipality has provided 100 ambulances, 40 of them being allotted to police, 35 to the hospitals and clinics at Mina and Arafat, five for inspection in case of accidents and five for the police deployed at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. The rest will be in readiness for any emergency call from the holy sites. Lighting arrangements The government has built 850 substations providing electricity to 55,000 tower poles lighting 75,000 bulbs in Makkah alone. The holy sites have 180 substations lighting 530 tower poles having 7,200 bulbs. The government has taken all possible measures to serve the pilgrims perform their rituals in ease and comfort, Al-Bar said. – SG __
