Jeddah: With several days left before the actual Haj begins, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah and Chairman of the Central Haj Committee, is scheduled to launch Saturday a free Internet service for all pilgrims during his inspection tour of the holy sites. The Emir will be briefed on the efforts of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Authority to provide integrated telecommunication services to pilgrims. The “Wi-Fi” wireless Internet network will allow pilgrims to browse the Internet free-of-charge in Mina, Muzdalifa and parts of Arafat, including hospitals and Red Crescent centers. Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Jafari, Governor of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Authority, informed Okaz/Saudi Gazette, that the authority has supervised the installation of more than 1,000 transmission and reception stations by Saudi Telecom. The stations cover all parts of the holy sites and will enable pilgrims to communicate with their relatives. He said the network also covers the Holy Sites Train. The train passes through various altitudes so engineers had to apply advanced technology to overcome this problem. On his inspection tour, Prince Khaled will check on preparations of all the service sectors and the progress of the vital projects and development taking place at the sites, including the Holy Sites Train and the expansion of the Arafat area. About 30 percent of the Holy Sites Train, which has cost in excess of SR6.5 billion, will be operational for this Haj season. Pilgrims will be able to make use of it for the whole period of the Haj, at a cost of SR250 riyals ($67) a person for seven days. The 18-km train journey connects Makkah to Arafat, Muzdalifa and Mina, site of a massive tent city for housing more than one million pilgrims. It is expected to cut the journey between the locations from several hours in log-jammed buses to much less than one hour. Another addition for this Haj season is the completion of the five-story walkway that funnels pilgrims through the ritual of “stoning the devil” at the Al-Jamarat pillars. The structure, already used last year, looks like an elongated open parking garage. It was built to help avoid the panics and stampedes at Jamarat that killed hundreds of people in previous pilgrimages, the most recent in 2006. In the wake of last Tuesday's heavy rain that caused the death of three people and brought traffic to a halt in Makkah, Prince Khaled is also scheduled to inspect the floodwater and rainwater drainage projects currently under way. At least 1.5 million Muslims from around the world have flooded into the holy cities of Makkah and Medina for this year's Haj. A total of two million Muslims are expected to perform the Haj ritual this year, one of the five pillars or duties which Islam requires of believers. The number, which includes a projected 250,000 Saudi pilgrims, could be down by 10 percent or more from last year due to limitations on accommodation in the sprawling Mina tent city, still under construction.
