Riyadh: Saudi Haj Minister Fouad Bin Abdul Salam Al Farsi put the number of pilgrims expected to arrive this year from outside the country at 1.7 million and added that all of the pilgrims will be taken care of.
"Six Tawafa establishments are doing everything to serve this huge number of foreign pilgrims on the basis of well-laid plans and programmes," Al Farsi said in a press statement on Monday.
Al Farsi denied reports that his ministry had set an upper limit for the number of Umrah pilgrims this year, adding that the ministry endorses the operation plans submitted by the Umrah establishments. It is after examining these plans that visas are approved and issued. "The total number of Umrah visas issued since the beginning of the Umrah season in February till date stood at three million.
"This figure is considerably higher than the number of visas issued last year. However, the number of pilgrims that arrived and left the country through various entry points is 2.6 million," the minister said.
The Holy Sites Railway will only serve 33 per cent of the Haj pilgrims this year as the facility will be completely ready for service only before the next Haj season, he said. There will be regular meetings with the officials of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to discuss the ways to derive maximum benefit from the new railway service, he added.
New system
He also said during the current Haj season a chain transport system will be in place to serve particularly pilgrims from Iran and non-Arab African countries.
"All obstacles that hampered the contractor implementing this continuous transportation project have been removed and the service will be commissioned this season," the minister said. He also said the work on the Haj Ministry building on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway is under way.
In a related development, the Ministry of Haj instructed yesterday all domestic Haj establishments to appoint guards to ensure round the clock security in their tents in Mina.
The guards should be in official uniform and should abide by security and safety regulations and instructions of Civil Defence. They should make sure there are working fire extinguishers and should not allow anyone use liquefied gas in the precincts. Each pilgrim is to be allocated a space of 1.6 square metres in a tent.
Air ambulance: Helicopter service
Saudi Civil Defence Commander for the Holy Sites Major General Mohammad Al Harbi said a helicopter control base to regulate helicopter services, including landing on rooftops, is under construction.
"It is not an easy task to transport sick people during Haj thanks to the special topographical nature of Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat," Al Harbi said, stressing the significance of the air ambulance service.
