Arab News

 
MAKKAH, Dec 13: Water tanker drivers in Makkah refused to work yesterday morning to protest ministry rules that prevent them from increasing prices for long-distance deliveries while compelling them to make those deliveries.

A number of water tanker drivers refused to work yesterday, raising a water crisis in Makkah in protest against the working policy of the Water Distribution Center. The centers’ rules force them to go with customers to distant areas and don’t allow them to increase their prices.

“The government obligates us to deliver to customers in faraway locations, sometimes on high hills and in narrow streets for the same price of SR180 that we charge for short-haul deliveries,” said driver Muhammad Khan, adding that he pays SR90 in fees to fill his truck.

The drivers lament that these long-distance deliveries are causing them to lose money because of the time it takes to get through Makkah’s traffic, essentially rendering these deliveries non-profitable, yet compulsory. Khan said one such deliver took five hours. “We asked to raise the tanker price (for these long hauls) to SR240, but officials refused,” Khan said.

According to Karim, other water tanker drivers who work in remote areas sell a truckload of water for SR400.