Haj pilgrims from UAE get quality services

Madina: Mohammad Obaid Al Mazroui, head of the UAE Official Haj Mission, on Thursday toured accommodation complexes for UAE pilgrims in Madina to get first-hand information about services provided by Haj contractors.

Al Mazroui said that inspection tours of the residential buildings and meetings with UAE pilgrims residing in them had affirmed that every pilgrim is receiving proper care and services of the highest standards.

On the role of his mission on supervision of Haj campaigns, Al Mazroui said Haj operators who comply with regulations and contractual agreements with pilgrims will be rewarded while non-compliant ones will be held accountable under the penalty code enacted by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments.

Meanwhile, a number of pilgrims have affirmed that they have been receiving high quality services since their arrival. They said that the Haj operators they signed contracts with had honoured commitments stated in the contract in terms of housing, food and trips to the holy sites in Madina.

Obaid Hamad Al Za'abi, head of the mission's team in Madinah, emphasised that his team did not register any violations against the 50 Haj operators who have arrived from the UAE so far. ‘'We have not received any complaint about lack of services or any other lapses from the side of operators,'' he said.

He added that a questionnaire was distributed to pilgrims as part of efforts to assess performance of those operators. "Based on findings of the survey, the authority will determine the course of action against the erring operators who could face financial fines or have their Haj licences revoked," he added.