MADINAH, 2 January 2007 — Though this year’s Haj is over, officials serving under government and private organizations in Madinah are still working on a round-the-clock basis.
According to a statistical report issued yesterday by the Haj Committee in Madinah, 280,068 pilgrims arrived in Madinah from Makkah after the Haj while 88,437 pilgrims left Madinah for their homes.
The number of pilgrims currently present in Madinah is put at 191,602.
Iranians topped the list with 26,470, followed by 20,561 Indonesians. The report added that 9,271 pilgrims left on 40 international flights from the Prince Muhammad Airport in Madinah on Monday bringing the total of the returning pilgrims to 38,850 on 182 flights.
The occupancy rate at hotels was 91 percent; the rate fell to 57 percent for residential rentals. The study also said that 9,288 pilgrims, including 1,301 pilgrims, requiring emergency treatment visited various health centers, clinics and hospitals in the city.
The Saudi Red Crescent Society took 119 pilgrims to various hospitals. The field monitoring teams of the Haj Coordination Committee made 213 field visits, the report said.
Meanwhile, Makkah police announced that they registered 280 criminal incidents at the holy sites and within the precincts of the Grand Mosque over the six-day peak of Haj (Dec. 17-22.
Maj. Gen. Yusuf Matar, commander of the Grand Mosque security, said his men arrested 20 people who were involved in pick-pocketing and stealing inside the Grand Mosque and its courtyards.
“There is nothing worrying about the number and nature of these crimes because at places where massive crowds gather only the vigilance of security people could bring the crime rate to a low level. Pickpockets can have a field day at the mataf (the designated area for circling the Kaaba) during Haj where hundreds of thousands of people inch forward within a limited space,” the general said.
The most serious crime committed within the Haram precincts during the season was the stabbing of three pilgrims at the mataf on the last day of Haj. “It was a deranged Indonesian pilgrim who stabbed three other pilgrims who were moving beside him. Security officials overpowered the man immediately and prevented him from causing further injuries,” the officer said.
Gen. Matar put the number of deaths in the Grand Mosque during the season at six. “All six died of natural causes and their identities were established,” He said.
Brig. Khodar Al-Zahrani, director of criminal investigations in Makkah, said 260 crimes and a few deaths, including a suicide, were reported at holy sites over the six days of Haj.
“The crimes, that included theft, pick-pocketing, forgery, drug peddling and immoral conduct, did not make any notable increase compared to the previous years,” Al-Zahrani said.
The expansion of the Jamrat Bridge is a key factor that reduced the density of crowds, which, in turn, reduced the opportunity to commit crimes, Al-Zahrani said.
On the other hand, the brigadier noted that the number of swindlers who sold counterfeit coupons for sacrificial animals at Arafat was higher this year.
Al-Zahrani said his department was striving to fix the identities of three aged pilgrims who were found dead at separate places in the holy sites. However, he affirmed that their deaths did not indicate any criminal involvement.
The police discovered the body of a pilgrim who committed suicide at Arafat, he said.
The officer said four of the arrested pickpockets were children below 13 years. “After preliminary investigations they were sent to a juvenile home in Jeddah,” he said.
Commenting on the quality of services provided by his department during this year’s Haj, Al-Zahrani said, “I am proud of the way my men discharged their duties which guaranteed safety and peace of mind to the pilgrims so that they could devote their full attention to their worship.”
The tasks of security agencies in Haj include not only prevention of crimes and investigating them once they occur but also offering humanitarian assistance to pilgrims, the brigadier said.
