JEDDAH, 6 November 2005 — A three-member committee comprising representatives of the Haj, commerce and interior ministries, is currently investigating 46 Umrah service companies for negligence of service in violation of laws and contracts.
The committee has already cancelled the license of two Umrah companies for committing a series of violations, Al-Eqtisadiah daily, a sister publication of Arab News, reported yesterday. Some companies failed to provide proper housing to their pilgrims. The Haj Ministry had to provide accommodation to 8,000 pilgrims squatting in the courtyards of the Grand Mosque.
The ministry issued more than 2.8 million Umrah visas this season and most foreign pilgrims came during Ramadan because an Umrah in this holy month is considered equal to Haj. This year, Umrah pilgrims came from as many as 151 countries, registering an increase of more than 500,000 pilgrims compared to last year. Egypt sent the largest of 969,697 pilgrims, followed by Iran (785,328), Pakistan (722,304), Jordan (184,458) and Syria (154,606).
According to the ministry, most Umrah pilgrims have left the country, at the rate of 20,000 daily. Some 13,000 pilgrims will return by ship from the Jeddah Islamic Port.
All Umrah companies have been instructed to make sure the return of their pilgrims after performing the lesser pilgrimage. The ministry has warned the companies that it would terminate their services if their pilgrims overstayed in the Kingdom after the expiry of their visas.
The ministry has fixed Shawwal 15 or Nov. 17 as the last date for the return of Umrah pilgrims and said overstaying pilgrims would be punished in accordance with the law.
A study conducted by King Fahd Haj Research Institute in Makkah said 23 percent of foreign pilgrims came on their own, without having any agreement with an Umrah company. It also pointed out that 10 percent of Umrah pilgrims lost some of their personal belongings while three percent became victims of thefts.
