Manama: Saudi Arabia’s Public Security agency said that it had to turn back 253,347 potential pilgrims because they did not have the necessary documents.
The security authorities also forced the drivers of 75,901 vehicles to go back for not possessing the permits they needed to enter the city of Makkah in western Saud Arabia where pilgrims congregate for the annual pilgrimage.
In a statement released on Friday, the authorities said that they had busted 51 bogus pilgrimage offices and referred their owners to the public prosecution for investigation.
On Tuesday, the authorities said that they barred 98,000 would-be pilgrims from reaching Makkah after they failed to show the documents that would allow them to enter the sacred city. But with the date of the rituals nearing, the number swelled up to more 250,000.
No one, including Saudi nationals and expatriates living in Saudi Arabia, is allowed into the city to perform Haj if they are not registered with accredited Haj operators and do not have the permits required by the authorities. A tight cordon is established around the city to ensure there is no breakthrough.
Despite the cordon and the regular warnings, thousands of people without proper papers invariably attempt to push their luck and way into the city, often by taking rugged dirt roads and through hills. However, the security servicemen often catch them and bar them from entering.
The scrutiny of the valid permits for would-be pilgrims for those arriving by air is carried out at the airport and scores of those who did not have the proper documents were this year told to fly back home. Many of them complained that they had been duped by unscrupulous Haj operators who had promised them that all papers were in order, but discovered at the Saudi airport that they did not have the required permit.
The Saudi authorities’ decision to allow only those with valid documents is based on security and organisational concerns related to the large crowds expected to congregate in the area.
Although Saudis have improved the mass movement of around three million people in a tight area during the Haj, making it faster and smoother, they still have to face formidable challenges posed by people not abiding by the regulations.
Several Saudis and expatriates try to take advantage of the Haj season to make money by making false promises to trusting people keen on performing Haj or by offering “secret passages” to the holy sites to those who are not registered with a Haj operator.
Last year, a 300-kilometre security cordon was established around Makkah to keep away infiltrators.
The cordon included 30 fixed checkpoints and 50 mobile patrols and a special support force of 200 members was on permanent standby for emergency cases.
This year, pilgrims congregate on Mount Arafat in the outskirts of Makkah on Friday for a day of prayer and supplication. Eid Al Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, is celebrated on Saturday
Haj, the fifth and last pillar of Islam, requires all physically fit and financially able Muslim men and women to perform Haj at least once in their lives.
