Sanabel district in the south of Jeddah are complaining about a large lake of stagnant water from which they fear mosquito-borne diseases are being spread to their homes. The lake, located in the north of the district, is estimated to contain more than 6,000 cubic meters of water and to be 10 meters deep. It has been in the district since being created by the heavy rains which unleashed raging floodwaters in Jeddah on Nov. 25. The lake, residents told Saudi Gazette, consists of rainwater and sewage that has been deposited by tankers. Saudi Gazette visited the district on Dec. 31 and took photos of the polluted water, and the numerous mosquitoes, flies and other insects that were breeding there. Residents, at that time, said that they had complained to the Jeddah Municipality and demanded that the body of water be removed but to no avail. When Saudi Gazette returned to the area on Wednesday (21 days later), they found that nothing had changed. The large body of stagnant water was still there and if anything seemed larger. Calls to Jeddah Mayoralty on Wednesday for comments about the lake went unanswered. Mohammad Al-Zahrani, a local resident, said that the municipality teams had come to the district with tankers to drain small bodies of stagnant water in the area. The tankers then emptied their contents in the large ‘Dengue Lake'. He added that all of this was done without any attempt being made to spray the lake. “We have suffered from the mosquitoes and bad smell especially at night. Last week six residents were infected with dengue fever,” Ahmed Al-Sobaiye, a resident of the district, said. Ahmed Al-Sahafi, Director of the health information department of Jeddah Health Affairs Management, said that he had no knowledge of dengue fever cases in the district. “I have no idea about that. However, the role of the Ministry of Health is to increase awareness about dengue fever and to treat cases if they occur,” he said. Meanwhile, Jeddah Health Affairs Management has begun an intensive campaign to fight dengue fever and spread health awareness among people. Almost one million dengue fever awareness brochures have been printed for distribution in the city. The brochures contain information about the disease, its symptoms and methods of prevention.
