Several Riyadh residents have expressed concern over the way maintenance companies are carrying out their repair works in different parts of the city. The residents have complained that it was the carelessness and lack of safety measures some maintenance companies excavating for the repair or laying of new cables has become cause of concern for them. They said companies simply dig holes in the ground and never bother to refill them after completing their job. Abu Ammar, a father of five schoolchildren, said the excavating team from a maintenance company dug a three-feet deep and five-feet wide trench to repair a telecom cable in front of his apartment building in Hai Al-Wazarat District. The technicians repaired the cable in about two days time but after that the trench was never refilled and is now posing a danger to the safety of the children, he said. “It is almost two weeks since the excavation was done and it has been left unfilled. I called the maintenance company to register my complaint, but so far no one has come to do anything about it,” he said. Parents are especially concerned when such excavations take place near school buildings. Abdullah Al-Asmari, a parent, said the authorities should impose severe penalties on erring maintenance companies. “I drop my son at the primary school every day in Manfouha District where the ground has been dug up for maintenance work. I see schoolchildren running playfully after the school hours, which may be unsafe for them,” he said. Parents agree that the maintenance of the underground cable network, whether telecom or electricity, is very important, as the city's infrastructure is getting old and requires constant repair work. Al-Asmari recalled when the front wheel of his vehicle stuck in a deep hole which was left unfilled near the Agriculture Ministry building requiring him to seek help from a car-towing company. There are different companies that undertook maintenance works in cooperation with the Riyadh Municipality. Al-Asmari said the maintenance companies place a warning sign before excavating and also fence the area with some sort of haywire that is easily broken. The signboard also contains contact number urging citizens and residents to register complaints in case of any inconvenience. But telephone numbers such as 01-476-6666 for Riyadh Municipality and/or the concerned maintenance company 01-430-3988 never respond tp register the complaints. “You can try these numbers yourself,” Al-Asmari said while handing the numbers to this reporter. A Nepalese security guard answered when Saudi Gazette called the concerned maintenance company to register a complaint. But the Riyadh Municipality number failed to respond despite several attempts.
