Governor Sheikh Ibrahim inspects work progress

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 25: Governor of Ahmadi Sheikh Dr Ibrahim Al-Duaij announced that by Dec 2, a top American geology expert will arrive in Kuwait to spearhead a cleaning operation of whole Ahmadi area. He stressed that political leaders in the country are concerned about the lives and safety of citizens and that on the directives of HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister, authorities won't wait for any report and will prevent any harm from befalling the people.

During a visit to the area to inspect work progress and the welfare of residents, Sheikh Ibrahim said more engines and apparatus have arrived in Kuwait and they will be used to draw the gases from the air immediately. He said according to experts, the gas level has reduced by 50 percent and that the problem is not in anyway geological because Ahmadi area is on a hard layer.

Meanwhile, Director General of Ahmadi Security Directorate Abdul-Fatah Al-Ali countered the claims of a citizen who told media that his house caught fire due to gas leakage. Al-Ali said the said house caught fire in July because the man added additional electrical load to cables in his house. He regretted that some citizens have termed the Ahmadi area as catastrophic. He disclosed that Ahmadi Hospital is open to all residents 24 hours and it is backed up with a complete team from the civil defense, fire service and paramedics. He affirmed that authorities are ready to evacuate any house which has high gas level, adding that buildings are gauged twice daily to determine gas level. Al-Ali announced that 95 families have been evacuated from their houses and provided alternate accommodations, while 20 families have refused to leave theirs for financial reasons.

Meanwhile, "the disconnection of gas supply from a number of homes in Ahmadi three months ago is a clear indication that Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) was aware of the problems in the gas network before the gas leak disaster," says Chairman of Kuwait Green Peace Organization Dr Hamad Al-Mutar.
Speaking at a seminar held by the organization in his diwaniya in Qadsiya recently under the slogan 'Reasons and Solutions', Al-Mutar believes the problem started in 2006 when the company started work on the replacement of the old network, which was a wrong decision because its was not done in a scientific way.  He then stressed the need to punish those who caused the problem, which poses a grave threat to public health.

Stressing the need to evacuate the area as soon as possible -- similar to the procedures taken in Thahar, Al-Mutar called for the immediate removal of the old network and identification of the actual source of the leak.

While praising the government's decision to form a crisis management committee to address the problem, Al-Mutar lamented the country is suffering due to the absence of a proper contingency plan, contending the government acts only when the problem gets worse like the Mishref sewage plant crisis.
Al-Mutar pointed out the gas leak in Ahmadi is considered another form of 'massacre', especially since the relevant authorities in the government and KOC are hiding the truth.  He contended the explosion in one of the houses is not an isolated case because the KOC disconnected the gas supply from some residential units in the area three months ago, which means the company at the time knew there was a problem but it has opted to conceal the truth from the public.

© Arab Times 2010