162,159 Hajj pilgrims arrive in Madinah

JEDDAH: Madinah has received 162,159 Hajj pilgrims up until Sunday, according to statistics from the National Adilla Establishment, the Saudi agency in charge of coordinating pilgrims’ activities.
According to the agency, 38,318 pilgrims are from Turkey, 34,965 from Indonesia, 25,267 from India, 21,585 from Pakistan and 10,518 from Afghanistan.
A further 24,450 pilgrims are expected to arrive on Tuesday, 6,877 of them from Indonesia, 4,865 from India, 3,550 from Pakistan and 1,710 from Nigeria. Meanwhile, 45 percent of private housing units are occupied.
The agency’s chairman, Hatem Bali, said it is serving pilgrims from the beginning of July to Sept. 26.
More than 1.8 million pilgrims are expected for this year’s Hajj season, and the agency is striving to provide them with the best services, he added.
Bali said the agency is raising awareness about the pilgrimage and health issues at the direction of Prince Faisal bin Salman, governor of Madinah and chairman of the Central Hajj Committee, as well as his deputy Prince Saud bin Khaled Al-Faisal.