Pilgrim Transport in Focus
Hajj Minister Dr Fouad bin Abdulsalam Al Farsy visited the headquarters of the General Automobile Union to look at the preparations and arrangements of this year’s Hajj season. He inspected the sections involved in controlling busses and hiring staff and inaugurated the Union’s new Internet site. He met the owners of transportation companies and was given a briefing on how the busses are controlled and how breakdowns and accidents are dealt with.
He also visited the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Hajj Research Institute, which is attached to the Umm Al-Qura University, where he looked at research projects and scientific studies currently being prepared. He also inspected all the services offered to the pilgrims.
Al Farsy said the Governor of Makkah Al-Mukarramah, who is also the Chairman of the Central Hajj Committee, has issued directives calling for a review of transportation charges for the pilgrims which have remained unchanged for a long time. The Executive Committee for the transportation of pilgrims and the General Automobile Union will study this, he said.
The Hajj Minister said investors should not be worried about their investments in the transportation sector because the planned railway services at the holy precincts will just be a supplemental means of transport.
It will be up to the pilgrims to decide which type of transportation they prefer and the railways will not adversely affect the bus services, he said. Also, companies and establishments dealing with domestic pilgrims will not be allowed to rent busses from outside the Kingdom.
He said the Union will have a sufficient number of busses and that the companies dealing with domestic pilgrims will have to rent some of these busses as they will not be allowed to rent from abroad. He said there are more than 300,000 busses this year valued over SR 600 million. Investment in the transportation sector was more than SR 8 billion “which is very large indeed,” he said.
Al Farsy said that the Council of Ministers have also reduced the visa fees for seasonal drivers to SR 1,000. An exception to this rule is the Islamic Bank and the Ministry is considering whether or not to include the transportation companies in the provision of this decree.
The number of Umrah performers will increase by 150,000 this year, totalling 3,350,000, Al Farsy said, adding that the percentage of people who over stay their visa was greatly reduced.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Hajj Affairs Hatim bin Hassan Qadhi said that the planned railways would carry the pilgrims from a particular fixed station while the busses would transport the pilgrims from their places of accommodation in Makkah al-Mukarramah. The number of these places of accommodation will increase this year to more than 6,000 and the railways will never directly affect the bus service.
General Zakariya Jawharji said that the railways will provide a limited competition and busses will continue to serve the pilgrims in their movement around the holy places.
The Hajj Minister said a media campaign led by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Governor of Makkah Al-Mukarramah, is being undertaken with the participation of other government bodies to inform the public on matters of the pilgrimage.
He said the “free number” system, which the Ministry introduced, led to the termination of more than 65 fraudulent companies involving domestic pilgrims. This was accomplished in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior. He stressed the importance of not dealing with any establishment that does not have a licence from the Ministry of Hajj.
He said that it is the responsibility of the Hajj mission to take care of the accommodation of their pilgrims. He said that the Shamiya Quarter in Makkah Al-Muharramah and the Bab Al-Tamar Quarter in Madinah Al-Munawwarah have been destroyed, forcing the pilgrims to proceed to quarters further away from the sanctuaries.
“Every year we try to coordinate with the private sector and the Tawafa establishments to provide good quality services to the pilgrims. As a result, we receive thanks for services rendered which are directed to the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. These appreciations come from the heads of the Hajj missions, whether they are on the ministerial or deputy ministerial level,” Al Farsy said.
Al Farsy said that the challenges faced by people involved in the pilgrimage are directly related to the expected increase in the numbers of pilgrims and the available space at the holy places. Another problem is the reduced awareness of the pilgrims.
“We are making great efforts to give each country a fair share in the number of its pilgrims as per the decree of the foreign ministers of the Islamic countries held in Amman. With regard to squatting in public places, we are able to say that there were no squatters around the Jamrat Bridge,” he said.
In his visit to the Hajj Research Institute at the Umm Al-Qura University, Al Farsy met the University President Dr Adnan Al-Wazzan, the Dean Dr Thamir bin Hamdan Al-Harbi and other officials of the Institute, where he was briefed on research projects and scientific studies relating to pilgrim services.
He toured various exhibitions in the Institute, including the photographs of the holy places in Makkah Al-Mukarramah.