3-day Campaign Held on Steps to Ensure Safety of Pilgrims

Image Caption: Security officers get a briefing in Makkah on Monday. (AN Photo)

MOHAMMED RASOOLDEEN

RIYADH: In preparation for the forthcoming Umrah season, which is set to begin from the month of November, the General Administration of the Civil Defense organized a three-day campaign in Makkah on security measures to be adopted during the pilgrimage.

Representatives from several commercial establishments, hotels and buildings housing pilgrims around holy capital and specialists in the field of security affairs were present during the campaign which started on Monday.

General Director of the Civil Defense in the Holy Capital of Makkah Col. Ali Al-Montasheri, who launched the campaign on Monday, urged participants to make more efforts in adopting safety measures in shopping malls, apartments, commercial shops, and other enterprises, by providing proper facilities and safety equipment that could protect the life and properties of individuals and enterprises.

Civil Defense officials will ensure that the firefighting equipment in the buildings are in order, and that electrical systems and wiring, and cooking equipment are in good condition.

During the holy month of Ramadan, which is the peak season for Umrah, the Directorate General of Civil Defense sent 2.7 million text messages through mobile devices to educate pilgrims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on safety measures while performing Umrah.

The move was part of an integrated plan to ensure safety and preventive awareness against risks associated with the presence of millions of pilgrims performing Umrah at the Grand Mosque.

It added that sending a large number of messages per day, since the start of the holy month of Ramadan, came within the framework of an integrated system of awareness-raising activities implemented between safety managers of Makkah and Madinah regions.

The integrated system includes awareness visits and guidance for those working in housing for pilgrims and visitors, as well as residents, industrial facilities and commercial centers, and interviews with officials and administrators of security and safety.

Civil Defense added that these were in addition to 2,300 interviews and meetings with administrators for security and safety in all establishments in Makkah and Madinah.

It added that preventive education affairs’ safety programs during Ramadan included a large number of messages translated and illustrated on billboards and television screens.

“Most pilgrims have expressed satisfaction regarding the translated messages, which they read on the television screens,” Civil Defense added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has already announced its quarantine requirements to the Saudi missions abroad to be applied on all Umrah pilgrims during the forthcoming season.

According to MoH specification, vaccination against meningitis is mandatory for all local and international Haj pilgrims, while flu shots are recommended for their own health.

On the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a circular to all Saudi missions abroad to follow the quarantine regulations of the Kingdom when issuing the Umrah visas to pilgrims.

Vaccinations against meningitis are valid for three years and it should be taken at least 10 days before they travel to the Kingdom. The ministry will deploy teams of officials at 16 ports of entry in the western province to check for infected cases among incoming pilgrims.

Meanwhile, hoteliers in Madinah said most the properties are going empty these days.

“Some hotels are 10 percent full and others are at zero occupancy,” a hotelier said, pointing out that this will gradually pick up when the season commences.

Those who visit Madinah are usually taken by tour operators to places of interest that include Quba Mosque — the first mosque built by the Holy Prophet in Madinah, Qiblatain Mosque where the Qibla was shifted from Baitul Muqadis (Al-Aqsa Mosque) to the Holy Kaaba when the Holy Prophet was conducting prayers, and the graveyard at the foothills of Mount Uhud where soldiers belonging to the Prophetic period, who were martyred in battle, were buried.

(Source: ArabNews.com)