Okaz/Saudi Gazette KHAMIS MUSHAIT – Khamis Mushait Municipality has violated the general trend of making the entrance of cities and airports attractive for tourists and other visitors, by doing nothing for the development of the 50-year-old Umm Surar District, the city's eastern gateway. "Visitors are greeted by underdeveloped areas which lack asphalted roads and street lights," said Awad Al-Qahtani, a resident, adding that the diffusion of dust has caused various diseases such as asthma among people living on both sides of non-asphalted streets. He said the presence of haphazard districts at the entrance of Khamis Mushait gives a bad picture og the city. "Many tourists may return after seeing this bad picture." Al-Qahtani said Umm Surar is one of the oldest districts in the region and is a vital gateway to Khamis Mushait. However, it suffers from acute shortage of services in addition to pollution. "The district has not received enough development projects. Some of its streets were asphalted 15 years ago and now it is full of patches, causing damages to vehicles and spreading diseases. Contracting companies do not repair streets properly after digging work," he explained. Ali Omair drew the attention of authorities to environment pollution created by rainwater drainage canal that passes Umm Surar. The flow of the canal has been blocked by big rocks and small trees, he added. Stray dogs roam the area which has also become a breeding ground for rats and mosquitoes that can spread infectious diseases in the district. "A number of swamps appear in the district following rains. This is another reason for the increasing number of disease-carrying mosquitoes in the district," Omair said, urging the municipality to make intensive efforts to ensure cleanliness of the city. Saad Al-Shahri spoke about damaged vehicles being abandoned along the streets in the district, saying it would create a bad impression among visitors. "Some old light posts in the district are likely to fall any time. A group of residents have kept them upright with the support of rocks." Maeed Al-Qahtani criticized companies that implement telecom, electricity and sewage projects for not repairing roads and streets after digging work and blamed it on non-coordination between the various government departments and agencies. Badr Al-Qarni, spokesman of Khamis Mushait Municipality, said tenders have been called to asphalt the streets in Umm Surar. Three teams are now working to repair light posts and a special team has been set up to deal with emergency cases."We have formed another team to fill patches on roads and streets. Every day this team uses 50 ton of asphalt for the maintenance of roads and streets all over Khamis Mushait," Al-Qarni said.
