https://arab.news/4c57n
- High-tech monitoring helps maintain order
- Top officials oversee operations at holy sites
MINA: Pilgrims at Hajj 2022 continued the “stoning of the devil” ritual for the second day at the massive Jamarat complex in Mina on Sunday. They each threw 21 pebbles at the three pillars that symbolize Satan.
Multiple pathways were provided on all five levels of the complex to ensure a steady flow of pilgrims who, after completing the ritual, spent time in prayer and supplication in their tents. Most of them will depart Mina after completing their remaining rituals on Monday.
The five-level Jamarat complex has been designed to ensure that large numbers of pilgrims can complete the ritual as quickly and easily as possible. They are only permitted to move through it in one direction to prevent congestion and delays.
Pilgrims hurl stones inside the Jamarat complex in Mina. (AN photo by Huda Bashatah)
After thorough preparations, all the necessary arrangements were in place to ensure the complex could cope with more than 300,000 pilgrims an hour. About 226 eco-friendly electric vehicles were provided on Jamarat Bridge to transport and serve them.
“Everything was easy, from organizing the crowd for the stoning in Jamarat, to the tawaf (walking around the Holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Makkah),” said Nussaiba, a Palestinian pilgrim who only gave her first name.
Pilgrims suplicate at the end of the ‘stoning the devil’ ritual. (AN photo by Huda Bashatah)
Hajj operations at the holy sites have been overseen by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, the governor of Makkah, and Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif. A number of agencies, including security authorities and health workers, have been involved in providing all the services that pilgrims might require.
The latest technology is being used to monitor the movement of pilgrims and ensure their safety and security. Cameras on the ground and in helicopters flying over the holy sites are connected to operation centers where information is analyzed in real time to ensure that any problems or emergencies are dealt with quickly and efficiently.
Security officials cool pilgrims with water sprays to beat the heat at the Jamarat complex. (AN photo by Huda Bashatah)
The Ministry of Health said there have been no outbreaks of disease during Hajj.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has implemented a comprehensive health insurance program for foreign pilgrims as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 program.
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