The Hajj Ministry has worked out a comprehensive plan to protect pilgrims from possible flash floods during the Hajj season, a senior official said.
“We have identified the areas and pilgrim tents that could be hit by floods, and made arrangements to drain rain water from such areas,” Al-Madinah newspaper quoted Dr Sahl Al-Sabban, Assistant Deputy Hajj Minister, as saying.
Anti-flood measures are particularly significant because weather forecasts of heavy rains have been predicted for this year’s Hajj season. “A working team has been set up with representatives from the Hajj Ministry, the Civil Defence and Tawafa (Guides) establishments to deal with rains and floods,” Sabban said. “Officials have been allocated special tasks to effect immediately in response to weather, without awaiting orders,” he added. He expressed his hope that implementation of the first phase of a drainage system would prevent rain waters from entering tents and flooding streets.
The Jeddah-based Arab News today quoted Col. Jameel Arbaeen, Director of the Civil Defence in Makkah, as saying that a comprehensive plan to counter rains and floods during Hajj was in place. “We have a complete plan, which we have begun implementing,” he said, adding that certain streets and roads would be closed in the event of rains and floods. “We have learned from experience with past floods in Makkah how better to deal with them,” he said. Warning messages of floods will also be given via mobile phones, with the help of Saudi Telecom.
Agreements have been signed with four contractors to remove the effects of past flooding from tents in Arafat. “All the tents will be ready for use well in advance of the beginning of Hajj on 30 January,” Sabban said. Sixty per cent of the tents in Arafat, where pilgrims stay on the day of 9 Dul Hijjah - the peak of the pilgrimage, have been replaced with new ones.
Worshippers, including a large number of pilgrims, thronged the Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah yesterday. In his Juma (Friday) sermon, Sheikh Saud Al-Shuraim, Imam of the Grand Mosque, urged the faithful to imbibe the spirit of Hajj. “Paradise is the reward for a person who performs Hajj in the right way,” Sheikh Abdul Bari Al-Thubaity, Imam of the Prophet’s Mosque, said in his sermon, quoting a Hadith. “Hajj is a great opportunity for Muslims to resolve their problems, end their divisions, and strengthen their unity,” he added.
The Hajj Ministry will host 1,000 Iraqi pilgrims this year, according to Hajj Minister Iyad Madani. The pilgrims will be selected in cooperation with the Iraqi Hajj mission, he said.
560 pilgrims from India, Pakistan and Burma will perform Hajj this year as guests of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance.
Source: SPA
