RIYADH/JEDDAH, 16 December 2006 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah instructed the Foreign Ministry to issue another 1,000 Haj visas to Sri Lankans, a senior official in Colombo told Arab News yesterday.

“The king generously responded to a telephone call from President Mahinda Rajapakse requesting the quota increase in the number of Sri Lankan pilgrims,” said the president’s spokesman Chandrapala Liyanage said.

He added that Rajapakse thanked King Abdullah for this gesture and had instructed the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Colombo to distribute the visas fairly among the deserving pilgrims.

Last year, the island nation sent 7,500 pilgrims and this year the quota was reduced to 4,500 by the Haj Ministry here.

Some 4,000 pilgrims have already arrived in the Kingdom and the last group would arrive on Dec. 23 with the country’s official Haj delegation. Those who were left out from this year’s group of pilgrims, made representations to their country’s president.

Confirming the increase in quota for the Sri Lankan pilgrims, Consul General in Jeddah, Masihudeen Inamullah said efforts made by the Sri Lankan Ambassador A.M.J. Sadiq “have borne fruit at the eleventh hour.”

“This was a special gesture of the Saudi king in response to a request made by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse,” Mohamed Mahmud Al-Ali, Saudi ambassador to Sri Lanka, told Arab News from Colombo. He said his mission in Colombo started issuing the additional visas from yesterday.

Eight Indian Centenarians

Eight Indian pilgrims above 100 years of age will perform Haj this year. The pilgrims who are 100 plus are Mohammed Ameeruddin Khan of Assam (105), Amjad Khan (106) and Asgari Bee (104), both from Uttar Pradesh, Thakor Sakina Bibi of Gujarat (100), Mohammed Abdul Haq of Bihar (105), Lal Khan of Rajasthan (102) and Mohammed Liyaqat of Andhra Pradesh (100).

Meanwhile, India’s Ambassador M.O.H. Farook, Consul General Ausaf Sayeed and Consul (Haj) Suhel Ajaz Khan yesterday reviewed arrangements for Indian pilgrims in Makkah. They also visited Al-Zaher and Al-Heera hospitals where Indian pilgrims injured in the Dec. 9 bus accident on Makkah-Madinah Expressway were admitted.

52 Malaysians Fall Ill

A total of 52 Malaysian pilgrims are being treated in hospitals in Saudi Arabia, mostly for respiratory problems and skin infections. Deputy head of the Malaysian Haj medical team, Dr. Shuhaimi Ismail, has said relatives need not to worry as the pilgrims were well taken care of. While 44 of the sick pilgrims are in the Tabung Haji hospitals, run by the Malaysian Haj mission, the others are being treated at various Saudi hospitals, he said.

Until yesterday, 11,607 Malaysian pilgrims were given outpatient treatment, mostly for flu. Pilgrims have been advised to wear masks and not to drink iced and carbonated drinks. They have also been told not to eat food sold by the roadside as a health precaution.

Dr. Shuhaimi said that five deaths involving Malaysian pilgrims had been recorded so far. Tabung Haji has 256 medical staff, including specialist, doctors and nurses, to look after about 26,000 Malaysians performing the Haj pilgrims this season. Besides having four hospitals, one in Madinah and the other in Makkah, Tabung Haji also has 13 clinics in the two holy cities.

Two-Wheeler Ambulances

Saudi Red Crescent President Prince Faisal ibn Abdullah ordered 10 motorbike ambulances to be active in the holy city of Madinah during the Haj, the daily Al-Madinah reported.

The local head of the Saudi Red Crescent, Adel Al-Gain, said that the motorbike teams would be spread out in the central area to serve the pilgrims. Their main task is to help those in need and to give first aid to the injured. He said the motorbikes, equipped with first aid equipment, would be faster in reaching accident areas.