MINA, 22 December 2007 — Pilgrims thronged to newly opened cloak centers to deposit their luggage as security officials were not allowing them to carry any baggage in Mina during this Haj, which for most pilgrims ended yesterday.
Pilgrims carrying heavy baggage are a common sight in Mina. They carry everything from bags to trolleys, folding chairs, umbrellas and even portable tents. They are one of the major obstacles in the smooth flow of pilgrims toward the Jamrat. They cause immense problems for others. Their presence reduces the speed of pilgrims’ flow toward the Jamrat. Sometimes, they bang into other pilgrims leading to injuries.
To cope with the situation, public safety officers were seen confiscating luggage on all the roads leading to Jamrat, which saw some skirmishes between the pilgrims and security personnel.
But public safety officials were adamant and confiscated hundreds of items. All seized items were piled up by the side of roads under the custody of Civil Defense personnel until pilgrims could return for them.
However, this year a private company has opened 11 cloak centers in Mina so that pilgrims can put their luggage in safe and can get them back after performing the ritual of stoning the Jamrat. The cloak centers turned out to be hugely popular with pilgrims since the security personnel were not allowing them to carry anything at all.
They have put big containers at the front of cloak centers and charge SR10 per hour per piece.
“We started this facility primarily to help pilgrims. This year we have 11 centers but the response we got will certainly compel us to add many more in coming years,” said Shakir Mazoon, manager of a cloak center. “Many pilgrims simply do not have a place to put their belongings, which we provided and they liked it.”
Pilgrims say that they cannot leave their belongings in camps — for fear of theft. An Egyptian pilgrim, Adanan Ghalib, said: “Who will take the responsibility of my luggage? We are poor people and if we lose something it will be difficult for us to buy it again.”
Others simply insist on carrying luggage with them and the only way to curb this practice is to educate pilgrims about its pitfalls, Shakir said.
“There should be a public-awareness campaign to warn pilgrims of the dangers of bringing too many personal effects to the Jamrat,” Shakir said.
He feels unless pilgrims themselves realize the hazards of carrying luggage with them. Some pilgrims said that the way the security forces confiscated baggage this year, next year pilgrims would either not carry heavy items with them or will surely put them in cloak centers. They say this facility will help to a great extent in curbing the menace of luggage-laden hajis.
“There was a general perception among hajis that they can get away with their luggage by skipping security personnel or by requesting them not to seize their stuff. But the way security guys confiscated bags makes it clear that now the days of luggage-laden pilgrims are over,” said Khilafat Husein from Pakistan.
He however said that the number of cloak centers was largely insufficient keeping in view the huge number of pilgrims who come with bags. “They must open many more centers on all roads and intersections,” Khilafat said.
