“Last year there were rains but we did not see any flooding thanks to the drainage systems in the holy sites. The Civil Defense has taken necessary precautions in coordination with public security,” said Maj. Gen. Saad Al-Khelaiwi.
He said the ban on the entry of vehicles carrying less than 25 passengers to Makkah and the holy places would be strictly imposed this year to ensure the smooth flow of pilgrims.
Speaking about crowd management on Dul Hijjah 12, when a large number of pilgrims leave Mina for tawaf (circumambulating the Holy Kaaba) in Makkah, Al-Khelaiwi said a special system would be introduced to ensure the orderly movement of pilgrims.
“Security officers will be deployed on the way from Mina to the Grand Mosque for crowd control and send pilgrims in groups at specific times to avoid crowding in the central region of Makkah. We applied this system last year and found it successful,” he said.
Al-Khelaiwi said that there is a need to conduct awareness programs for all parties participating in the Haj operation, including pilgrims.
Maj. Gen. Khidr Al-Zahrani, assistant commander of Haj forces for criminal security, said women officers would also be deployed for Haj security operations.
“They will be appointed to deal with crimes involving women as well as to provide security at women-only camps,” he said.
Al-Zahrani urged pilgrims not to carry with them expensive items and valuable documents during the peak days of Haj to avoid losing them.
Maj. Gen. Muhammad Al-Shahri, commander of the command and control center, said surveillance cameras have been set up all over the holy places and Makkah to monitor various developments, including flash floods, so security forces can intervene immediately.
“Our center also monitors developments in neighboring cities and towns. Last year, following the Jeddah floods, we contacted different security agencies including highway police to facilitate the movement of pilgrims. We have also appointed officers to contact various security agencies under the Interior Ministry as well as the National Guard and armed forces,” he said.
Speaking about security measures at the new railway stations in the holy places, Brig. Ali Al-Ghamdi, commander of special forces for Haj security, said security officers would be deployed to control pilgrims’ entry and exit to and from trains. This year, only domestic and GCC pilgrims will be using the Mashair Railway that links the holy places.
“Armbands in three different colors will be distributed among these pilgrims. The blue color is for station No. 1 in Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifa, the yellow color for station No. 2 and the green color for station No. 3,” he explained.
Al-Ghamdi said about 300 officers have attended different language courses to learn English, French, Urdu, Farsi and other languages as well as sign language to help them interact with pilgrims easily.
Brig. Muhammad Al-Maroul, director of public relations at Public Security, said his department has completed preparations for its awareness programs.
