MAKKAH — The people of Makkah, visitors to the city and pilgrims are asking the pertinent authority to revise its policy of granting two bottles of Zamzam water to each individual, Al-Madina reported. Mohammad Al-Harby said the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has complicated the process of getting Zamzam. "The people of Makkah and the pilgrims are displeased with the regulations required just to get bottles of Zamzam. The Zamzam factory used to give the buyer whatever amount he wants and pays for as long as it was a reasonable. But now you have to register the number of family members you have and it all depends on the distribution and purchase rate of the week," said Al-Harby. He added the presidency has even put the limit on buying Zamzam bottles once every two weeks. "Zamzam water is being sold in abundance on the roads leading to Jeddah, Madinah, Taif and Al-Leeth. I don't know how these independent sellers get hold of so many bottles of Zamzam but that only proves that the regulations in place are not effective in preserving the amount of Zamzam water distributed," said Al-Harby. Awadh Al-Shihry said the presidency should let everyone choose the amount of Zamzam bottles they want without any restrictions. "These unnecessary and ineffective regulations have just created a black market for Zamzam water that is unregulated leaving the consumer with no way to know if the product sold is authentic or a counterfeit one. In addition to that, the employees responsible for selling Zamzam water are unorganized," said Al-Shihry. He added the employees only open two sales counters because there is no supervision. Waleed Al-Rahman said it is understandable that the presidency is trying to ensure that everyone who wants to buy Zamzam has an equal opportunity of obtaining the water but the regulations in place need to be revised. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, a Makkah resident, said the presidency should reconsider the purchase limit it has in place. "It is the holy month of Ramadan and four bottles of Zamzam for a individual for the hole month is not enough. People want more which makes them unknowingly buy counterfeit Zamzam from street sellers," said Al-Ghamdi. Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry member Saad Al-Qurashi said the job of selling Zamzam bottles should be delegated to a private distribution company. "The private sector can help in improving the efficiency of Zamzam distribution and please both the presidency and the consumers. The responsibility could be left for a distribution that is capable of producing a larger amount of Zamzam water and has offices and station in various areas of the Kingdom to facilitate the process of buying Zamzam," said Al-Qurashi. He added privatizing the distribution process is the only way to solve the issue of the Zamzam black market. "Allowing a licensed and supervised private company to take care of selling Zamzam will ensure that buyers will get the amount of Zamzam bottles they wish in good quality. There have already been counterfeit Zamzam water factories shut down. They would fill water bottles with regular water and sell it as Zamzam. The water may even be tarnished due to poor storage and over-exposure to sunlight," said Al-Qurashi. The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques Deputy President Mashhour Al-Munimi said the presidency prioritizes the demands of the consumers and ensures that consumers receive sanitized Zamzam bottles. "We cannot increase the amount of Zamzam bottles given to each buyer because the production capacity is limited as the demand is currently higher than the supply. All of the bottles sold have been sanitized and inspected by a team of laboratory technicians," said Al-Munimi.
