MAKKAH,
January 18 (IslamOnline.net) – Saudi Arabia has harnessed the
Information Technology age for the comfort of some two million pilgrims
to perform Hajj this year.
The
sacred places in Makkah Al-Mukarama have been
decked with electronic signs to streamline the movement of the faithful.
The
Sacred Mosque's (Haram) 129 gates were also decorated with traffic-style lights,
which turn red when the mosque is full and green when there is enough
space.
Up
to 700 TV sets and five huge electronic screens have been set up in
camps in and around Mina to guide the pilgrims and provide them with
minute-by-minute footage of the Jamrat bridge to head off deadly
stampedes.
They
further broadcast the holy rituals live for the white-robed pilgrims in
five different languages: Arabic, English, Urdu, Indian and Bengalese.
Seven
escalators and 15 exits have been set up for the elderly and people with
special needs in addition to two elevators.
Hotline
Hajj
authorities have also set up a hotline (800 245 100) to answer questions
from the pilgrims in five languages.
Scholars
and imams from the four corners of the kingdom are working on a
two-shift basis to answer perplexed pilgrims.
The
Saudi Armed Forces further launched for the first time a new medical
service called “Ask Your Physician.”
Mina
hospital also appointed doctors speaking the much-used languages to
advise the pilgrims how to avoid contagious diseases.
The
Saudi Red Crescent has also prepared up to 117 portable hospitals across
the holy lands and highways with a capacity of 2,115 people.
The
Islamic Guidance in Hajj Authority also holds a series of lectures in
mosques and the pilgrims’ accommodation to raise the awareness of the
pilgrims.
The
authority has also distributed up to 10 million Hajj brochures,
including 1.6 million copies of the Noble Qur’an and translations of
its meanings.
Saudi
Arabia announced Friday, January 14, that `Eid Al-Adha (feast of
sacrifice) falls on Thursday, January 20.
The
Ministry of Interior has deployed more than 50,000 security men to
secure Muslims performing the fifth pillar of Islam.
Official
figures put the total number of pilgrims performing last year's Hajj at
1,892,710, with 1,419,706 from abroad and 473,004 Saudis and other
Muslim residents of the kingdom.
