MAKKAH: Minister of Haj Fouad Al-Farsy and senior officials from his ministry visited a number of Tawafa establishments and reviewed their Haj plans yesterday.
Al-Farsy began his tour with a visit to the Arab Pilgrims’ Tawafa Establishment where he reviewed the group’s plans for the next Haj season. He instructed workers to provide pilgrims with the utmost care and attention to allow them to perform their rites easily in peace and comfort.
He also underlined the importance of time management and said officials should be available to help pilgrims the moment field offices are opened.
Addressisng reporters at the end of the tour, Al-Farsy said the ongoing expansion works around the Grand Mosque might create inconvenience to pilgrims who seek to stay close to the Haram this year. “Their residences would be near the third and fourth ring roads,” he said.
The minister identified the ever-increasing number of pilgrims and the tendency to sleep on pavements as two major hurdles in the way of Haj service providers. He also disclosed a SR320 million project for the transportation of pilgrims to be implemented next year.
Welcoming the minister, Faiq Bayyari, chairman of the Arab Pilgrims’ Tawafa Establishment’s board of directors, said his establishment has devised plans to ensure pilgrims are served well. “We will deploy all our material and human potentials to provide excellent services to the pilgrims,” he added.
Al-Farsy also visited the Non-Arab African Pilgrims’ Tawafa Establishment where he met Abdul Wahid Seifuddin, chairman of the establishment’s board of directors, his deputy and other board members.
The minister approved the establishment’s operational plan to provide care to pilgrims from the time of their arrival in Saudi Arabia until their departure to their respective home countries.
Seifuddin expressed happiness at the minister’s visit and said this would drive the employees and officials at the establishment to exert maximum efforts to provide comfort to pilgrims.
The last leg of the minister’s tour was a visit to the South Asian Pilgrims’ Establishment where the minister watched an audio-visual show on the services provided to pilgrims. The minister was briefed about the establishment’s computer network, which links the establishment to field operatives and other concerned organizations.
Adnan Katib, chairman of the establishment’s board of directors, said his organization is ready to receive pilgrims and has made plans to deal with potential crises. “We can prepare substitute tents in less than four hours in case of fires,” he said.
