Khalaf Al-Harbi

Okaz



Humans today can manage to live with problems within their own families or at work but they will not be able to live without electricity, which has become as important as air and water. In this connection, many residents of the Al-Harazat district in east Jeddah wrote to me about their power troubles.



They said they have been deprived of electricity because their houses were built without proper licenses and that they had no official ownership deeds for them.



The residents were getting their power by extending wires from nearby houses.



A booming trade has flourished as a result of this problem. Groups of young men from the subcontinent started to sell electricity to the residents by extending electric wires to their homes from homes that have electricity. Each one of them has, therefore, become an independent electricity company.

Supreme orders were issued to supply the neighborhood temporarily with electricity but the problem further aggravated following the severe rains and floods in Jeddah in 2009. The files on underdeveloped districts and land encroachments were put on the tables for discussion and have remained there without any action being taken.



The officials who are discussing these files know very well that electricity has nothing to do with the issue of illegally built houses and that it should not be used as a means of pressure on the residents, but still they do not hesitate to cut the power. The electricity company itself has wished so much to provide the neighborhood with electricity because its irregular distribution will subject it to financial losses and cause faults to its network.



Furthermore, the illegal electricity connections, which do not observe safety measures, may cause grave disasters.



Chairman of the Jeddah municipal council Dr. Abdul Malik Al-Junaidi said in recent press statements the residents of the Al-Harazat neighborhood and other underdeveloped districts are in dire need of the support of Makkah Emir Prince Mishaal Bin Abdullah and Jeddah Governor Prince Mishaal Bin Majed to make them legal areas and provide them with all the required civic services.



He said these districts should be re-planned and constructed legally and should also have open spaces, parks, schools, health centers, mosques and other facilities.



The concerned officials in Jeddah may take their time planning these areas but they should make sure that they are immediately supplied with electricity. Power is of paramount importance and should be supplied to each and every house. It is not acceptable that families should remain without electricity even if there are issues concerning the legitimacy of their homes.



I appeal to the concerned officials to supply these areas with electricity immediately before they talk about their legalization or development.