MAKKAH – Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah Province, adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and chairman of the Central Haj Committee, stressed the importance of working hard to make this year’s Haj distinctive and well-organized, Saudi Press Agency reported Monday.
At the Central Haj Committee meeting Monday at the emirate in Makkah in the presence of representatives of all sectors, Prince Khaled called for sincere collective hard work to serve pilgrims. All should have a team work spirit so as to come out with a successful Haj season, he said.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Haj and Umrah representative made a presentation on the ministry’s plans giving some statistics on the number of pilgrims who have arrived in the Kingdom from abroad via airports and seaports. Till now the number of pilgrims has reached 428,000. Meantime, the number of confirmed bookings for domestic pilgrims has reached 139,800.
The presentation dealt with the approved plan for grouping of pilgrims at the Jamarat and Al-Mashaer Train, for whose management a joint operation room has been established. It comprises all the authorities related to Haj. Meanwhile, 6,000 guides have been appointed. Their task will be to create awareness among the pilgrims.
The presentation touched on a report on the facilities provided to pilgrims with special needs. In this connection, all Al-Mashaer Train stations and the Jamarat Bridge have been provided with lifts, apart from 234 electric wheelchairs to transport old people and those with special needs on the slopes of the Jamarat Bridge. Special toilets have been constructed for them. Special lanes have also been allocated for people with special needs. Work is in progress in the construction of 36,000 toilets in the holy sites.
According to the presentation, the bed capacity of the hospitals in Makkah and the holy sites has been increased to 5,000. About 203 seasonal health centers have been set up, aside from others distributed in Makkah, Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat. There will be medical caravans equipped with 45 buses and provided with 20 medical teams.
For the first time, four strategic water tanks in Al-Muaissim will be operated. Each water tank has a capacity of 767,000 cubic meters. Over 4 million bottles of Zamzam water of various sizes have been kept ready.
