JEDDAH — Parks and different places in the city where water still remains following heavy rain over the weekend are creating a health concern, especially over dengue fever, said local authorities. Mohammad Al-Bugami, spokesman for Jeddah Municipality, told Saudi Gazette that the life cycle of a dengue mosquito is only two weeks. He noted that the municipality is committed to cleaning not only parks but also the streets within the coming 48 hours. The municipality, he added, is to spray all open areas including parks. “We are also working hand in hand with the Ministry of Health to spray inside houses. During the rainy season such campaigns become more active.” The municipality has promised to clean every location that has been identified by members of the public as unsafe. It also stated that it has put in action its plan to combat rain threats. According to its reports, they have cleaned and finalized the needed maintenance for 17 rainwater drainage areas. A team of the municipality has also toured different parts of the city to document feedback about the situation and also to monitor the work of contracting companies. During the past two days the municipality has dealt with over 470 locations that it described as “sensitive.” The total water being removed adds up to 5 million cubic meters, it said. The municipality has deployed 1,600 employees to work over two shifts. They are equipped with 512 machines to clean the 14 different regions of the city. Meanwhile, Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishal Bin Majed has directed all government bodies and contracting companies to adhere to their responsibilities and do their work. He also stressed on the importance of fixing damaged roads and ensuring their safety. Jeddah Mayor Hani Aburas noted that the municipality has been receiving complaints from thousands of Jeddah residents about services and locations that do not fall under the local authority's responsibility. These issues, he said, are the responsibility of the contracting companies that are working for other government bodies. The municipality had launched a project last year to implement new parks in the city at a rate of one almost every week. The last park was inaugurated on Thursday by Aburas in Jeddah's Al-Safa district. This adds to 74 parks already inaugurated in the city, with 40 other parks to follow soon.
