JEDDAH, 29 January 2004 — The Civil Defense Department will deploy 9,300 officers, including firefighters and rescue workers, on Haj duty this year, according to Maj. Gen. Saad Al-Tuwaijeri, director general of the organization. He said his department, in coordination with other government agencies, had worked out a comprehensive plan to deal with rains and flash floods during the Haj.

The department has readied 2,072 vehicles and equipment, 118 rescue boats, and eight helicopters for the Haj service, Al-Madinah daily quoted Tuwaijeri as saying. The department has 263 units in Makkah, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa.

“Before working out the Haj plan, we took into consideration the possibility of heavy rains causing flash floods inundating streets and tents, the possibility of a landslide, the collapse of bridges and water tanks in Mina, destruction of utility services due to cyclones, and power outages and the disruption of telecommunications,” he explained.

Referring to the plan to deal with flash floods, the general said that the naval forces would be on hand for rescue operations, along with divers from the Border Guard.

Tuwaijeri said the authorities had prepared four emergency reception centers in addition to schools and wedding halls, adding that the four centers could house 100,000 people. He said the department had worked out a special plan for rescue operations at Jamrat.

Sacrificial Meat

Dr. Ahmed Muhammad Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank, yesterday briefed journalists covering this year’s Haj events on the sacrificial meat utilization program supervised by the bank. He said the meat of about 700,000 sacrificial sheep would be used during this Haj season.

“The program aims at helping pilgrims to perform animal sacrifice easily and comfortably. It also helps distribution of the meat among the needy Muslims instead of wasting it,” he said.

The bank has made arrangements for the distribution of the meat among the poor in 26 countries. Some 36,000 workers have been employed to carry out the project.

Nigerian Vice President

Nigeria’s Vice President Ateeku Abubakar arrived in Madinah yesterday on his way to Makkah to perform Haj. He was received on arrival at Madinah airport by senior officials, including Abdul Kareem Al-Hunaini, deputy governor of the region. A number of foreign dignitaries including Senegalese Prime Minister Idriss Sek have arrived for Haj this year.

Heart Operation

A 47-year-old Malaysian pilgrim underwent an emergency heart operation at Al-Noor Specialist Hospital in Makkah on Tuesday. The pilgrim was brought to the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Dr. Khaled Yamani, head of the cardiology department at the hospital, conducted the operation.