Jeddah: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is expected to receive more than 6 million Umrah pilgrims during the current season and the number is likely to exceed past figures, Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar said.
"All arrangements are in place and the ministry is ready to welcome the visitors to the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque," the Minister was quoted as saying by the Saudi daily (Arab News).
He added that the ministry has deployed all its staff and personnel to serve the pilgrims and facilitate their arrival to perform the religious rituals smoothly, and leave the Kingdom during the coming months without any accumulation in their numbers.
The Haj Ministry has held a string of meetings and conducted workshops with related sectors as part of preparations for the Umrah season 1437, with the participation of Umrah firms and service providers.
It has put in place new measures which the licensees have been told to follow while providing services to the pilgrims inside and outside the Kingdom.
The controls are also intended to maintain the lawful rights of pilgrims, mainly the regulations to grant visas and service packages, the work of outside agents and the manpower and their rehabilitation and training.
The measures include a surveillance system, preparing locations and sites for the companies and mechanism of work and arrival of pilgrims from countries where there are no agents.
QNA
