The Mayoralty here has adopted all possible measures to offer the best services to those performing Umrah and those who are visiting the Grand Mosque during the summer vacation and the holy month of Ramadan. Over three million people are expected to converge on the holy city during the next few months. Authorities have taken special measures to tackle swine flu which has already affected thousands of people in several countries, with the Kingdom recording 125 cases by Monday. The Ministry of Health has undertaken all possible precautions to protect people from this contagious pandemic and any infected person will be quarantined, Dr. Osama Fadhl Al-Bar, Mayor of Makkah and a member of the Central Haj Committee told Saudi Gazette. A labor force of 4,600 is working on shift duty day and night to clean the city. They are provided with 333 garbage trucks, as well as road sweeping equipment and water tankers to wash the city's streets. Apart from this, there are 123 electronically operated compressor garbage troughs, 45 of which have been placed in the vicinity of the Grand Mosque to rid the area of unpleasant smells, said Dr. Al-Bar. The garbage, once collected, is taken outside Makkah to be burnt. Ten teams use spray machines on pickups to spray insecticides throughout the city every day. They especially spray those areas where garbage troughs are placed or where there is stagnant water. One hundred inspectors inspect shops to check on the expiry dates of foodstuff. They also take samples of food from restaurants and test them in the laboratory. If any contamination is found, the owner of the restaurant is punished under health regulations.
