JEDDAH – Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and chairman of the Central Haj Committee, said on Thursday that greater coordination between various sectors participating in the Umrah operation contributed to the success of the season, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Prince Khaled expressed thanks and appreciation to the members of the Central Haj Committee and the Executive Committee for the distinctive performance of the 21 government agencies that carried out the Umrah plan in cooperation with the Ministry of Haj and Umrah. Prince Khaled made the remarks after receiving a detailed report of the Umrah season from Hisham Bin Abdulrahman Al-Faleh, adviser to the emir of Makkah and chairman of the executive committee for Haj works. The report included the work of 21 government agencies that provided various services to Umrah pilgrims. The report also included the accomplishments of the field committees under supervision of the emirate of Makkah. Among these is the committee for combating all negative phenomena in Makkah's central area. The committee had fielded 595 personnel, 20 buses, 41 cars, 25 motorbikes, 75 wireless sets and six computers to carry out its task. The report showed that 5.11 million iftar meals were provided to fasting worshipers in the courtyards of the Grand Mosque. About 25.11 million meals were distributed via the Iftar Sayim Program in the mosques of Makkah and its suburbs, aside from 180,000 meals distributed in the parking lots at the gateways to Makkah. Over 890,000 meals were distributed by the program at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah. The staff provided by the Siqaya and Rifada Committee exceeded 468. Apart from these, the committee provided two vehicles, two motorbikes, 27 Bravo sets and 10 computers. The committee distributed 23.8 million iftar and 1.4 million suhoor meals to fasting Muslims. The report said the Siqaya and Rifada Committee provided iftar meals to fasting Umrah pilgrims and visitors according to certain conditions. The report said the work of the Committee Organizing the Transportation of Umrah Pilgrims and Worshippers to the Grand Mosque involved transporting 35 million people from the parking lots and public transport stations in 2 million trips. The committee operated 2,000 buses as part of the shuttle service. It provided parking space for 5.2 million vehicles in the parking lots. It managed to limit the traffic pressure on the central area by avoiding 8 million trips by small cars. In addition to reducing the traffic congestion in the central area, the committee facilitated the crowd movement in all directions in the courtyards of the Grand Mosque. It utilized the latest technology to sell bus tickets and register vehicles at the parking lots. It organized the transportation of old people and those with special needs from the public transport station to the Grand Mosque by providing electric wheelchairs. The report also provided statistics on a host of other services provided to the pilgrims.
