Ali Bin Gharsan and Muhammad Samih Okaz/Saudi Gazette MAKKAH — The holy sites of Mina and Arafat have been virtually deserted after hectic activity for the past several days except for the presence of hundreds of cleaning personnel picking up garbage left over by an estimated four million pilgrims who performed Haj this year. The garbage left behind in Arafat alone exceeded 20 tons. The scene could be likened to an island hit by a hurricane leaving behind heaps of debris. During a tour of Arafat, Okaz/Saudi Gazette saw small shovels gathering the garbage from the streets and then compacting it to facilitate transportation to the garbage dump in Al-Okaishiyah in southern Makkah. One of the laborers working at the site said the cleaning of Arafat might take five to seven days. He said the dumping ground is far away from the city and the traffic jams in Makkah are a hindrance to accomplishing their task. Prince Mansour Bin Mit'eb, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, has directed the Makkah Mayoralty to formulate a system for cleaning contracts and setting conditions and standards that guarantee their efficiency. This move has come following the piling up of garbage in Mina holy site as well as in several Makkah districts during the Haj. In another development, the Haj Preparatory Committee has approved the garbage disposal system to places outside Mina. This will end the garbage accumulation crisis. The project focuses on the automatic transportation of garbage. Final negotiations are going on with the Ministry of Finance for approval of its proposed budget reaching SR800 million. Osama Al-Bar, Mayor of Makkah, said the project would be implemented next year as an experimental first stage if approved by the Ministry of Finance. He said the cost of the project is SR700-800 million and it will be carried out in Al-Sha'bain Area, east of Mina, which includes the camps for pilgrims from Southeast Asia and Turkey and some domestic pilgrims as well as the Jamarat Area. Al-Bar said if the experiment succeeds it will be implemented in all parts of Mina. He added that the project would greatly reduce the quantity of garbage in Mina. As to the project's work mechanism, Al-Bar said, “The project is in the form of suction pipes, mobile pipes and conveyor belts that carry the garbage to warehouses outside Mina. A study has been conducted on the project and completed. If implemented in the holy sites, it will create a qualitative change regarding cleanliness in the holy sites.” He disclosed that a proposed city that will be constructed in the Mina holy site area is being studied by the Higher Authority for Development of Makkah and the Holy Sites, and will raise the capacity to nearly six million pilgrims. The new city will take into consideration the existence of an infrastructure for all the services projects.
