Four government Hajj-related departments hold joint press conference"
Major General Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, and Dr. Khalid Mirghalani, spokesman of the Ministry of Health, Major Abdullah Al-Harthi, spokesman of the Civil Defense, and Abdulaziz Al-Hussoon, Advisor to the Minister of Hajj, held a joint press conference here casting light on the achievements of their departments in making the ongoing Hajj season a complete success.
On his part, Al-Turki said that the descending of pilgrims from Muzdalifah valley to Mina took place smoothly and in record time, thanks to the successful control of traffic police on vehicles and pedestrian traffic.
Dr. Mirghalani stated that Hajj was free of epidemic and quarantine diseases.
Speaking to reporters, Al-Turki explained that a plan put by the Ministry of Interior's Hajj-related authorities concerned to help pilgrims move smoothly from Muzdalifah to Mina directly to their camps prior to being called by turn to perform in groups the Jamarat stone-throwing ritual before heading for the Grand Mosque in Makkah to perform Tawaf Al-Ifadha, a pillar of Hajj, was the main cause for the success and smoothness of this ritual. once a cause of concern to Saudi hosts and pilgrims as well.
Despite jams at the Grand Jamrah, particularly at the ground floor, pilgrims moved smoothly to throw the devil's replica, he added.
Until 12:00 (noon) today, more than 1.8 million pilgrims completed the Jamarah throwing ritual successfully and headed for the Grand Mosque in Makkah to score another success in performing the Tawaf (circumambulation) and Sa'aye (galloping between Safa and Marwa mountains), Al-Turki said.
On the security and health arrangements for the coming phases of performing Hajj, particularly at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Al-Turki said this will be following a strict plan of achieving a balanced rush towards each detail of the ritual.
Future plans will continue to achieve the required balance of the influx of pilgrims between the ritual sites, he said, citing the remaining rituals of Jamarat throwing and Tawaf in Makkah over the two coming days.
On his part, Dr. Mirghalani said the Ministry of Health has made available four health emergency centers inside the holy Mosque area and 24 moving medical units.
He said some health clinics did not receive any patient today, a sign for the growing health awareness of pilgrims.
Mirghalani went on to say that until 4:00 p.m. yesterday, only 660 patients reported to hospitals while 3012 visited outpatient clinics, 10 % down the number in the same day last year. The number of those hospitalized reached 221, 30 percent less than last year's number, he said adding that 50,000 reported to health centers, also 30 % less when compared with last year's figures.
He said more than 99 percent of pilgrims coming through land, sea and air inlets were properly vaccinated in their countries.
To prevent hindering the smooth flow of pilgrims from Arafat to Muzdalifah and to Mina, the authorities would continue to keep the excess luggage in special cabinets for the pilgrims until they return from Arafat or Makkah, he added.
Working in a team spirit to achieve the Ministry of Health's banner "wherever you go, you find MoH", enabled it to score high results in the service of pilgrims, Mirghalani said.
He lauded the role played by doctor-students from different Saudi universities in illuminating pilgrims.
On his part, the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior said the shuttle transportation plan, which witnessed the implementation of its first and second phases in Hajj since last year, proved effective in transporting the pilgrims from place to another.
However, some pilgrims, due to differences of religious culture, prefer to prolong their stay in a certain sacred place rather than the other, he noted.
He said the problem will finally be solved by the introduction of shuttle trains in the years to come.
On his part, the advisor to the Minister of Hajj said so far only 35 complaints were filed by pilgrims.
He dashed out reports that language barrier represents hindrance between non-Arabic speaking pilgrims and security men. In this regard, he cited that until the day before Arafat Stand more than 9,000 astray pilgrims were guided by scouts and others.
In response to a question, he said disputes between pilgrims coming from inside the Kingdom and their Hajj sponsors (Mutawifeen) are settled by the Ministry of Hajj in a way that enables a pilgrim to complete his rituals. Afterwards, special committees will see their complaints, he added.
He said safety conditions in Hajj enjoy international standards.
He added that the difference between the proclaimed number of 2.4 million of pilgrims and the real number of Hajj attendees is attributed to big numbers of those who slipped to Makkah before the start of Hajj season. He explained that those don't carry Hajj permissions.
He categorically denied reports that some were apprehended for trying to stage acts of sabotage in this year's Hajj. If it had happened, we would have not hesitated to announce it, he added.
In response to a question, Al-Hosoon confirmed that international organizations have shown interest to benefit and study the Kingdom's experiment in managing a multi-million group in a limited area at the same time. He cited the International Organization for Civil Protection and some universities in Japan and Germany respectively.
He said the opening of a full-fledged hospital in Arafat and its closure after 24 hours every year is an unprecedented experiment in the world.
He concluded that increasing or decreasing Hajj quotas is the liability of the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Conference who decided the current quotas in 1988 according to a special criterion.