Makkah, Jul 11: Sharif Mashoor Al-Manami, undersecretary of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs, has confirmed that more than 100 violators of work and residency regulations were arrested for renting out wheelchairs at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
He told Arab News that the violators have been referred to the Passport Department in Makkah for further investigation.
Al-Manami warned all pilgrims and visitors to Makkah against dealing with the owners of carts and wheelchairs, which have been provided by the General Presidency.
A number of pilgrims, meanwhile, expressed their dissatisfaction with the high rental prices of carts and wheelchairs for use by the elderly and individuals with special needs in the Haram, especially during Ramadan.
They said that the price of a single wheelchair ranges from SR250 to SR500, making them unaffordable for people with low incomes and in need of this service.
They also complained about the lack of organization in operating the movement of these chairs, which can injure pilgrims performing the religious rights on foot as these are pushed at high speed.
Ahmed Al-Yami, Hassan Sharif and some other young Saudis working in this field explained that the month of Ramadan was a great opportunity to get high financial returns which would help support their families especially as the majority of the workers are typically unemployed.
They said that they can earn up to SR2,000 daily in Ramadan, justifying the high rents of the carts to the amount of effort exerted in pushing these carts in the heavy rush in the Grand Mosque. They noted that some pilgrims sometimes pay up to SR1,000 for their services.
Al-Manami said that an ad hoc committee has been set up to oversee the issue of unlicensed carts and wheelchairs, noting that an integrated plan is under way to provide more than 10,000 carts for free and another 500 on lease during the holy month.
Comments
Add new comment