MAKKAH: The man in charge of regulating people who transport the elderly, infirm and disabled pilgrims for the Saie ritual between Safa and Marwah said pilgrims who need this assistance should not pay more than SR100 for the service in the last days of Ramadan.
People who come for the annual Haj and the minor pilgrimage Umrah are required to perform the ritual walk between the two mounts within the Grand Mosque complex.
“The prices are fixed so pilgrims should not pay more,” Mashhour bin Mohsen Ahmed Al-Manaami said.
He also warned against pilgrims using this service from people who do not have a license from the municipality exhibited, as unlicensed pushers are not authorized to work in the Haram complex.
Officials have been charged with ensuring that people do not take advantage of pilgrims who need this assistance.
Al-Manaami also referred to the elevators and the handicapped-accessible ramps accessible from the Ajyad Bridge. A special office in the eastern courtyard of the Grand Mosque offers wheelchairs free of charge.
“There are 4,000 manual wheelchairs as well as 50 self-operating electric wheelchairs. These special chairs can be requested from the Safa office on the first floor,” Al-Manaami said.
There are also about 550 wheelchairs scattered around the Haram for rent by 200 Saudi youths who have been commissioned for the labor.
He also pointed out that more than 50 Saudi youths have volunteered to push the weak and disabled pilgrims between Safa and Marwah to do the Saie free of charge from Asr prayer to midnight.
Al-Manaami said the Grand Mosque has 13 special-access entries as well as elevators and escalators.
