Trash litters a street in Mina on the last day of Haj.

The streets of Mina are still unclean and littered with trash despite the fact that it has been seven days since the pilgrims departed.

The Makkah municipality has warned pilgrim establishments not to dump their waste and has threatened them with issuing tickets and fines for violations.

On the other hand, the pilgrim establishments, also known as Tawafa organizations, state that they are being unfairly targeted.

“There are instructions to camp owners in Mina to contract qualified entities to provide garbage containers every 20 yards for the collection of waste. This should be done before and after the season and the containers must be transported to the dumps as required,” said Abdulsalam bin Mushaat of the Makkah municipality.

He said that if tent owners do not remove their waste, the municipality will be forced to inform the Haj Ministry of their shortcomings.

The Makkah municipality began to implement its cleanliness operation plan. It aims to remove all trash by Oct. 13.

Mushaat clarified that the municipality is using all necessary equipment to carry out its work.

“The plan includes focusing on Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah and all surrounding areas. The plan will be implemented in stages,” said Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Moraqi of the municipality.

Al-Moraqi said the volume of garbage was on the increase compared to previous years. The amount of litter collected in the first half of the month of Dul Hijjah was 76.311 tons, a 10 percent increase over the previous year. He estimates by Oct. 15 the weight of litter will increase by 15 percent.

Raffat bin Ismail Badr, chief of the Southeast Asian Pilgrim Establishment, said it was not his organization that had left waste in Mina. He noted that all its gypsum boards and other decorations had been taken down. He added the group had received permission from the Finance Ministry and said a memorandum from the ministry said all boards and decor become the property of the municipality and not the establishment at the end of Haj.

A member of the board of the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Saad Jameel Al-Qurashi, said the owners of tents for domestic pilgrims were obliged to clean the places inside and outside.

He said owners had contracted with companies which provided them containers at a cost of SR1,700 and all owners are obliged to use them.