Makkah : About 70,000 security officers will be deployed during this year’s Haj season to ensure the safety of pilgrims and provide them with quality services that will enable them to perform their rituals in ease and comfort, the director in charge of the public security has announced.
Maj. Gen. Osman Bin Nasser Al-Mahraj said: “We have enough security forces to organize entry to Makkah and the Holy Sites and monitor the movements of pilgrims. The security forces are ready to deal promptly with any emergency situation. They are maintaining a vigilant eye in the service of the guests of Allah.” Al-Mahraj met on Saturday with commanders of the Haj forces at the Public Security Department headquarters in Makkah. The meeting discussed the latest pilgrimage security plans. “All our forces are ready to serve the guests of Allah and exert efforts for their ease and comfort,” he said.
Al-Mahraj said there would be no leniency shown toward the fake Haj campaigns or those who forge their Haj permits to enter Makkah and the Holy Sites. “Every day we nab many people who try to enter Makkah from various parts of the Kingdom without Haj permits. “We will never allow anyone without a permit to do the pilgrimage.” He said the introduction of Haj permits and a fingerprinting system will reduce the number of domestic pilgrims and ensure those coming from outside with better services because the Holy Sites is limited in space. Al-Mahraj also made an inspection tour of the locations of the security forces inside the Holy Sites on Saturday to assess their readiness. He inspected the Al-Bahitah district between Makkah and Taif, through which about 40 percent of local pilgrims pass on their way to the Holy Sites.
Meanwhile, the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has prepared about 1,200 wheelchairs for pilgrims to use while doing Sa’i (traveling back and forth between Safaa and Marwa seven times). A spokesman of the presidency said wheelchair pushers were medically examined before they were licensed to do the job. He said the pushers would be covering shifts around the clock. “The wheelchairs are provided free of charge to pilgrims who only have to pay nominal fees to the pushers,” he said.
In another development, the general syndicate of cars and the Tawafa Establishment for Pilgrims from Southeast Asia have signed an agreement to launch a GPS service that would work on the smartphones of pilgrims. Marwan Bin Rashad Zibaidi, spokesman of the syndicate, said the system would provide electronic guidance to pilgrims toward their various destinations. “It will also show them the locations of the rescue and guiding teams,” he said. Meanwhile, the director of King Abdulaziz Hospital in Makkah, Dr. Hani Bihairi, said 168 new beds have been added to the hospital, taking its capacity to 423. He said a total of 842 doctors, nurses and technicians are working in the hospital around the clock to serve pilgrims. “There are 22 outpatient clinics that receive sick pilgrims throughout the day and night,” he added. ihairi said there are 47 beds and 25 doctors in the emergency ward and 26 beds and 26 doctors in the intensive care unit.