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Saudi Arabian News Updates |
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30 March 2009 MAKKAH: Despite the Makkah
construction boom, some ruined buildings and deserted
courtyards still exist in a number of residential
districts. These areas have become a haven for drug
addicts and illegal immigrants. These buildings also
pose a serious threat of fire.
Many citizens have asked the municipality to
demolish these old buildings. They have complained of
criminals using vacant and neglected buildings to
watch nearby occupied buildings for opportunities to
burglarize residences.
“The old buildings and empty courtyards are being
used for drug taking, prostitution and other crimes,”
said one resident.
Arab News toured these crumbling buildings and met
a number of concerned officials to elicit views of the
problem.
Haizaa Al-Abdali, district mayor of Shuab Amir,
said he has warned the owners of these old buildings
several times to secure them from squatters and
riff-raff or demolish them, but his warnings were
ignored.
He said he submitted a list containing the names of
the property owners to the police but nothing was done
so far.
“We once discovered a dead body of a Saudi who died
from a drug overdose in one of the deserted
buildings,” he said. “Two years later his brother died
in the same place from the same cause.”
He called on authorities to do more to address the
problem.
Dhafir Al-Bishi, mayor of Al-Jummaizah district,
said he has had the same problem as Al-Abdali:
building owners who have ignored ultimatums. Al-Bishi
went to authorities for help.
“Nothing happened so far in this regard,” he said.
The mayor said he proposed to the municipality to
demolish buildings whose owners are unknown.
In their place car parks should be built to help
resolve the long-standing problem of insufficient
parking capacity, he added.
“These buildings have also become dumps for garbage
that sometimes contains volatile substances that might
cause fires, threatening the lives and properties of
the residents,” he said.
Director of Civil Defense Col. Jameel Arbaeen said
his department submits regular reports to the
municipality about old buildings and deserted
courtyards that posed real danger to the people living
close by.
Chairman of the Commission for the Promotion of
Virtue and Prevention of Vice Sheikh Ahmed bin Qasim
Al-Ghamdi said these places were also being used as
meeting points by unrelated men and women.
“They are also safe havens for criminals,” he
warned. |
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