BISHA – A number of Bisha residents have blamed the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture for the wastage of water by tanker owners and employees as well as filling stations. "It's unfortunate that these people do not know the value of water, which is the savior of life and this is happening in a desert country like Saudi Arabia," said Mohammed Al-Shahrani. "A large amount of water is spilled on streets from tankers while transporting water to residential districts," he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. He stressed the importance of creating awareness in the society to stop wasting a precious resource like water. "Water wastage should not happen in a place like Bisha, it being a desert region that does not have a desalination plant." Al-Shahrani referred to a major water supply project, which has been under construction for the last 10 years. "Bisha depends mainly on King Fahd Dam for its water requirements," he added. He called for the intervention of higher authorities to stop wastage of waster in the city. "Authorities should punish violators including tanker drivers and owners of distribution outlets to stop water wastage." Mohammed Al-Muawi said it has become commonplace to see water being wasted by tankers as they go through Bisha streets while its people suffer from shortage of drinking water. "The ministry should have monitored wastage of water and should have taken action against the culprits including tanker drivers and filling station workers," Al-Muawi said. He said people should be informed about the need to use water carefully as Saudi Arabia is a desert land and it depends mainly on desalination of seawater. "Scarcity of water is a major issue facing Bisha people," he added. Naif Al-Bishi also stressed the need to take punitive action against those people involved in wasting water. "The absence of control and monitoring on the part of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture , is the main reason for this negative phenomenon," he said. He proposed severe penalties against those who misuse and waste of water. Public awareness programs must be conducted to stop extravagant use and misuse of water, he added. Bandar Al-Ghamdi also stressed the importance of creating public awareness on wise and rationalized use of water. "Our religion Islam has prohibited wastage of water and warned against all forms of extravagance," he said. Nasser Al-Shahrani urged water department officials to keep a close watch on water distribution stations and water tankers to prevent wastage. "They should impose fines on violators," he added. He wondered why tanker drivers and filling station employees were not paying enough attention to avoid wastage of water while they live in a desert land and know the importance of water.
