Thousands of workers have been employed by the Makkah Municipal Corporation to keep the holy sites clean and hygienic during Haj. The Corporation has also put in place special precautions for swine flu, according to Dr. Osama Fadhal Al-Bar, mayor of Makkah Municipal Corporation and a member of the Central Haj Committee. Al-Bar told Saudi Gazette that 20,500 workers have been engaged to work around-the-clock to cater for the welfare and safety of pilgrims. About 7,000 workers have been cleaning the city since Oct. 27. Around 670 garbage trucks and other machines for cleaning roads have been deployed. The Corporation has also installed electrically operated compressor garbage storage tanks to contain bad smells. Al-Bar said the holy sites have been divided into 25 service units, which include Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat. Thousands of cleaners are working day and night with hundreds of garbage trucks. The Corporation also has in place mobile ground storage tanks and compressor garbage storage tanks to prevent the accumulation of filth. These storage tanks are towed away and taken to sites outside of Makkah, where the garbage is immediately incinerated. Ten mobile teams have also been employed to spray insecticides at various locations in Makkah where mosquitoes and flies breed. A team of 100 workers with a fleet of ten garbage trucks is on stand-by around-the-clock to meet any emergency situation, Al-Bar said. The Jamarat and other open areas around the Khaif Mosque in Mina have special teams equipped with auto vacuum cleaners and small tractors for cleaning, he added.
