JEDDAH: Coming to Makkah is neither easy nor cheap. Taxi drivers and people driving their private cars are taking advantage of the Haj season to increase fares. These drivers demand high fare from those who do not have permits but want to perform Haj.

At the bustling bus station in Jeddah downtown, where drivers converge to shuttle pilgrims to the holy city, a pilgrim with a Haj permit can expect to pay up to SR100 for travel to Makkah. For those intending to perform Haj without permit, these drivers ask for a hefty amount and may come down a little after negotiation. Taxi drivers also converge on Kilo 10 of the Old Makkah Road to pick up such pilgrims.

Pilgrims who want to perform Haj but do not have permits or iqamas find people who smuggle them into Makkah. Such drivers are a few and they know the roads that lead to the holy city bypassing security checkpoints. The cost of smuggling these pilgrims starts from SR1,000 per person and can go considerably up.

Fadlulrahman Abadi, a Sudanese pilgrim who works in the Kingdom, said he didn’t want to pay the SR2,500 fee that Haj tour operators were charging.

“The high cost of Haj has forced many people, including me, to take the risk of getting smuggled into Makkah,” he said. “I’ve heard that it is more difficult this year (to sneak into Makkah) and that the police are vigilant and strictly applying the rules and regulations.

Abadi said given the high cost of performing Haj legally this year, he would again try to sneak into Makkah next year illegally.

Nuruldeen Mahmoud, an Egyptian who wanted to perform Haj with his wife and two daughters, said he could not pay SR12,000 to obtain the permits to perform Haj.

“I cannot manage this amount of money even if I save half my salary every month,” he said.

“If I pay such a hefty amount to perform Haj, how can I take care of other expenses? I urge officials to consider people with low income because I know there are many people like me who cannot afford to perform Haj anymore.”

He said he had already performed Haj two years ago but this year he wanted his wife and two of his daughters to perform pilgrimage. Haj officials have said in the past that those performing Haj more than once cause problems for others because they deprive new people from performing an obligatory religious duty.

Officials have urged people not to repeat Haj. The world’s estimated 1.2 billion Muslims should have the opportunity to perform their religious duty, they said.

Radad Al-Otaibi, a young Saudi man from Taif, said he came from Taif with his GMC vehicle to transport illegal pilgrims inside Makkah because it is a very profitable business now.

“I am very much aware of the routes to Makkah and no one can catch me,” he said. “I am helping them fulfil their dreams of performing Haj and I do not see anything wrong with it. I am charging them high prices because the risk is also high. I know some roads to Makkah but it will take me two hours to get into Makkah. My deal with the pilgrims is to get them to Makkah and they will have to go to Mina or the Grand Mosque on their own.”

Col. Abdullah Al-Harthi, supervisor of media affairs at the Passport Department, said the government’s campaign has helped raise awareness about the need for pilgrims to obtain permits. Officials are focusing on punishing those trying to smuggle pilgrims or residing illegally in the Kingdom.

“We have arrested more than 200 drivers who were trying to smuggle pilgrims in addition to more than 800 illegal pilgrims until late Friday,” he said.

The government has cracked down on people smuggling pilgrims and on those residing illegally in the Kingdom, but legal residents or Saudis who try to enter Makkah without Haj permits are not being arrested. They are stopped at the checkpoint and asked to return.