AREAS affected by water-logging in the recent rains should be disinfected to prevent a possible outbreak of infectious diseases, warned a top councillor.
Capital Trustees Board public relations committee chairwoman Dr Maha Al Shehab made the remark during a regular meeting of the board yesterday.
Capital Municipality cleaning directorate head Jassim Redha updated members on his team’s efforts to address rainwater issues.
Heavy rains wreaked havoc in the country from December 31 to January 2, flooding areas and causing damage to public property.
“I would request the Health Ministry to step in and assign a public health and infection control team to disinfect areas where rainwater had accumulated,” Dr Al Shehab told the GDN.
“There are additional concerns that arise as a result of the rainwater accumulation which are related to public health and hygiene.
“The mosquitoes have been identified as a major issue; we have received reports from many areas of people suffering from mosquito bites.
“There are also concerns over rats and rodents in wet and damp areas.
“As soon as rainwater is drained from the villages and streets, we must conduct a health and hygiene check in the areas. I urge the health and infection control departments to disinfect the areas.”
Dr Al Shehab also called for long-term “engineering solutions” to the country’s annual rain-related problems.
“We need to strengthen our infrastructure even more; we need technical and engineering solutions that are effective regardless of the amount of rain.
“This calls for a detailed study by experts into the road structure – the highways, main roads, and streets within towns and villages – to analyse the common areas where we see water accumulation and the reasons behind it.”
Fellow councillor Huda Sultan called for a “contingency plan” to deal with the annual rain-related chaos.
She, however, praised the cleaning crew for working efficiently “within their limitations”.
“In Manama, there are only nine trucks to help drain the water, which is far too few for a place like that. We need a proper strategy and we must address the availability of resources to deal with these situations,” said Ms Sultan.
“We cannot continue to rely on reactive methods such as deploying trucks to drain water and then dump it into the sea.
“We need to be proactive; we’ve seen people suffer and everything we’ve done so far has been reactive. There should be a priority as well as a contingency plan so that we can avoid this misery every year.”
A’ali, Karranah, Saar, Hajiyat and Buhair were among the hardest hit areas, with a new road leading to Al Lawzi housing in Hamad Town receiving the most rainwater during the heavy weekend downpour.
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, ordered that all damages from the rain be listed and compensation given to those affected.
The board meeting, chaired by Saleh Tarradah, also discussed other matters on the agenda, including several land classifications across the capital.
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