“Crowd management at the Grand Mosque during Ramadan, especially on the 27th night of the holy month, was a huge success compared to previous years,” Muhammad Idris told Arab News. He said the map helped those managing crowds take quick action when necessary. He commended security officers for their tremendous efforts in managing crowds inside and outside the large mosque complex, which can accommodate more than a million worshippers at a time on its different floors.
“The success of their efforts was quite evident everywhere, be it inside the mosque or the central region of Makkah,” Idris said. Previously, crowd management was facilitated by the Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques Affairs.
Special security forces have been deployed inside and outside the mosque to prevent people from sitting in the pathways, control entry and exit of worshippers and ensure a smooth flow of people.
Idris said a number of workshops on crowd management have been conducted under the supervision of Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Prince Naif and Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal.
Meanwhile, Abdul Mohsen Bin-Humaid, director of projects at the presidency, said the completion of the masaa (the running area between Safa and Marwah) expansion project this year helped pilgrims to perform the sa’ie ritual easily and comfortably despite the huge crowds.
He said the tracks for pilgrims in wheelchairs in the first and second floors have been made separate from regular pedestrians. There are special lifts near the masaa to take these pilgrims to the first and second floors and back.
