SAUDI ARABIA

Interior minister reviews Haj security

August 14, 2018

Badea Abu Naja

Saudi Gazette

MAKKAH
— Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif, who is also the chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, on Monday reviewed the readiness of the Haj security forces and watched a parade during which the forces displayed their preparedness to deal with any emergency situation during the pilgrimage.

The forces paraded cars, suspended staircases, armored vehicles and aircraft to used to confront any security hazard.

Deputy Emir of Makkah Prince Abdullah Bin Bandar has inspected the Qarn Al-Manazil Miqat near Taif. The miqat (the point where the pilgrims change into the state of ihram) has a mosque that can accommodate more than 3,000 worshippers. The mosque employs 160 people and has 370 toilets for use by the pilgrims.

Prince Abdullah also inspected the Baheeta checkpoint, which has eight lanes for buses carrying pilgrims, car parts, an operation area and housing for policemen and employees of 12 government sectors involved in the Haj service.

The checkpoint deals with about 54 percent of overland pilgrims who come from the central and eastern areas of the Kingdom in addition to the Gulf countries.

As many as 68,789 pilgrims, including 316 Saudis, and 29,848 cars were turned back from the checkpoint over the past few days because of they did not permits to enter the holy city.

The deputy emir also inspected the pilgrims' tents in Mina to review their readiness.

According to the Department of Passports (Jawazat) some 1,486,958 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom as of Monday.

It said, 1,392,928 pilgrims arrived by air through King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah while 78,282 pilgrims arrived by land and 15,748 by sea.

Mina, the city of tents about five kilometers away from Makkah, is geared up to receive the guests of God, who will start ascending to the mountain valley on Sunday, Dhul Hijjah 8, which is historically known as Yaum Al-Tarwiyyah (The day of collecting water), on their way to Arafat the next day, which is the climax of Haj.

Bunk beds in tents

For the first time ever, bunk beds will be used in the tents in Mina, according to Zaki Bin Omar Hariri, deputy chairman of the Tawafa Establishment for South Asian Pilgrims.

He said each pilgrim would have an area of 70x170 cm, which will be enough for them to move around freely in the tent.

Hariri said all the prerequisites set by the Civil Defense have been thoroughly applied in the tents, which are all fire-resistant.

According to a statistical report issued by the Haj committee in Madinah, a total of 767,755 pilgrims have arrived in the Prophet's city to pay homage to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and pray at his mosque.

The report said the majority of the pilgrims had left for Makkah while 194,289 pilgrims were still remaining in Madinah.

The report said about 107,861 pilgrims sought medical treatment in the hospitals and health centers in the city.

Hot, humid weather

The General Authority for Meteorology and Environmental Protection expects the weather to be hot and humid in Makkah, Madinah and the holy sites during the Haj days.

It said rainfall is likely in the holy sites from Aug. 14 to Aug. 20 and on the Day of Arafat.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance has announced that 128 preachers will answer questions from the guests of God on toll-free phone lines.

The ministry said 81 preachers will be stationed in Makkah with 24 telephone lines and 47 in Madinah using 6 telephone lines while there will be 29 lines in Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa.

The ministry said the preachers would be available 24 hours daily. It said since the beginning of Dhul Hijjah the preachers replied to as many as 9,271 telephone calls.


August 14, 2018
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