JEDDAH — Residents of the Baghdadiyah neighborhood have complained that a lack of basic public services has turned the area into a mess. Residents told Al-Madinah daily that garbage is piling up in the streets, which they say also lack lighting that has contributed to an increase in criminal activity. Abdulaziz Al-Ruwaished said residents do not want to walk in the streets, which are crowded and need to be re-asphalted. Ahmad Ali said old abandoned houses have become a garbage dump and a safe haven for illegal residents. He pointed out that there is a shortage of garbage dumpsters and cleaning workers are not performing their duties appropriately. He said: “Sometimes the residents have to pay from their pockets to hire some workers to collect the garbage. “The hygienic condition of the neighborhood has become chronic and the municipality has not responded to the residents' repeated complaints.” The neighborhood's mayor, Fawwaz Salamah, said the residents' complaints are increasing by the day and they are very angry at the municipality's apparent negligence of the neighborhood. He said: “I have communicated the residents' complaints to the municipality many times but to no avail. “The lack of street lighting has become a source of fear for them.” Jeddah Municipality spokesman, Abdulaziz Al-Ghamdi, said the local authority would conduct a field inspection of the neighborhood and deal with the garbage problem. He noted there was a special committee entrusted with the removal of old rundown houses. He said: “The municipality receives complaints on its 940 number. “The number of complaints is continuously increasing, which puts great pressure on the municipality to deal with all of them.”
