MAKKAH, 2 January 2007 — The rental fees for wheelchairs that are used by the elderly, disabled and those with children have increased to more than SR300 due to an increase in demand during the past 24 hours of the Haj season.
Since Saturday, the demand for wheelchairs has escalated due to the Jamrat ritual that began on Eid day. Pilgrims — in their hundreds of thousands — have begun flocking to the Grand Mosque to perform the farewell circumambulation of the Kaaba and the subsequent walk between the two mounts of Safa and Marwa.
The General Administration at the Grand Mosque provides over 3,000 wheelchairs to the elderly and disabled to assist them in performing their Haj but the increase in demand has created a shortage crisis.
According to the authorities, the demand for wheelchairs intensifies during the night when it is cooler. In addition, many pilgrims prefer to spend as much time as possible in Mina and therefore end up returning to Makkah during the late hours of the night.
“Many charitable people have provided additional wheelchairs to the Grand Mosque authorities to supplement the wheelchairs that the authorities already have,” said Ahmad Al-Radi, who distributes wheelchairs to pilgrims. “The wheelchair service is supposed to be free of charge. However, there are people who take advantage of pilgrims and unjustly charge them,” he added.
Al-Radi said that the existing number of wheelchairs is adequate for ordinary days but since there are a huge number of pilgrims in Makkah the need for wheelchairs has tripled. “To make things worse, the wheelchair pathways in the Safa and Marwa section are very narrow and so we see a lot of congestion and jams,” he added.
The administration at the Grand Mosque also provides electric wheelchairs to pilgrims. Private owners of such wheelchairs are also allowed to rent out. Pilgrims currently have two options when it comes to wheelchairs: they can take advantage of free wheelchairs provided by the authorities at locations outside the Grand Mosque. They can also rent wheelchairs from third parties.
Third parties that rent wheelchairs to pilgrims are open to negotiation and have been instructed by the Saudi authorities to avoid overcharging.
Rental wheelchair owner Muaaz Al-Jihani said that rental fees during the Haj season are higher than during the rest of the year. “The prices during Haj range from SR150 to SR300 for the run between Safa and Marwa. ... If there is a tawaf to be done and the rituals are to be carried out on the second floor then the rental fee ranges from anything between SR500 and SR700. The fees are likely to fluctuate according to the timing of the day. The more the crowds the more expensive it will be,” he said.
Al-Jihani added that tawaf using wheelchairs is no longer carried out on the ground floor but rather on the first floor where there is a special pathway for wheelchair users.
Mohammad Al-Deini is a young man who rents out a wheelchair that he took from the authorities for free. “What I earn from renting out wheelchairs — as I work day and night — is a lot especially during the Haj season,” said Al-Deini.
He added that he is there to both earn and serve pilgrims. “A friend of mine, who also does the same thing, recommended this line of work.”
With an aim of making extra cash, many young men resort to pushing wheelchairs. Wheelchair-pushers start work in the early hours of the day. They begin by picking up wheelchairs from the wheelchair section of the Grand Mosque free of charge, which they then use to push pilgrims.
Pilgrims pay the wheelchair-pushers for their physical efforts. Pilgrims are pushed between Safa and Marwa seven times - a distance of a little more than three kilometers.
Dheifallah Al-Thaqafi, a Health Ministry employee, has been taking vacations during the Haj season for years so that, together with his father and brother Mazen, he can push wheelchairs between Safa and Marwa.
Al-Thaqafi says he considers his to be blessed. “We’re building a house for our family in Thaqeef Valley in the city of Taif. The money we earn will go toward that,” he said.
“The average amount we earn during this season ranges from SR8,000 to SR9,000. So, between my father, my brother and myself we earn around SR25,000 in total each season,” he said.
Egyptian pilgrim Muhyuddin Qadi, 65, said that due to a disability he is compelled to use a wheelchair to go between Safa and Marwa. “I paid SR300 for the wheelchair services,” said Qadi. “I have no qualms about paying that amount of money; I’m paying for the efforts of the pusher.”
Saifuddin Ibrahim, a pilgrim from Tunisia rented a wheelchair for his wife. “We usually rent a wheelchair so that I can push my wife. We’re used to this procedure, which we’ve followed when we have previously preformed Umrah. ... However, this time I didn’t find any wheelchairs without pushers. I had to negotiate the price with them. At the end of the day it is well worth the price you pay.”
