The Jeddah Governorate announced Monday that it stopped a prominent real-estate businessman from demolishing a wall at an Eid prayer ground in the city's Al-Bawadi District. The businessman claims to have a title deed showing that he owns a 1,200-square-meter part of the prayer ground and said he obtained the document three years ago. Field teams from the Jeddah Mayoralty, accompanied by security patrols, stopped the businessman from completing the wall's demolition and made him agree to follow up the matter with the Mayoralty. The businessman later withdrew machinery he brought to the site. The teams acted after a tip-off from Al-Bawadi residents that the businessman started razing part of the prayer ground. Neighborhood residents Awad Al-Otaibi, Jam'an Al-Zahrani, Ahmad Al-Ghamdi and Talal Al-Jad'ani said the prayer ground was set up 50 years ago, long before the area was approved for residences. The site was used as a parking lot and also for public services for residents, who set up an Eid prayer ground. They said the businessman contacted them two years ago to convince them that he owned the site, in preparation for razing part of it, but they stood firm in opposing his plan. Residents asked authorities to stop the man from taking over part of the prayer ground, which is owned by the Jeddah Mayoralty as a pubic area for the benefit of those who live nearby. Four months ago, the residents submitted a petition to the Jeddah Governorate after an engineering consultation office made a plan to offer the prayer ground for sale or construct shops on it. On the basis of this petition, the Governorate asked the Jeddah Mayoralty about the issue and learned that the prayer ground is a public area and that part of it is used for a car parking lot. Mayoralty officials also confirmed that no part of the site is under private ownership. The businessman, who said he has a construction permit from the Jeddah Mayoralty produced a title deed issued three years ago by the Shariah Court in Jeddah.
