Makkah ready for Umrah pilgrims

December 30, 2013

Umrah_pilgrims

Makkah, Dec 30: The Makkah Municipality has deployed all its resources to welcome Umrah visitors to the Grand Mosque and offer them the best services like healthy environment and amenities for a comfortable stay in the holy city, said Mayor Osama Al-Bar.

A labor force of about 7,000 consisting of supervisors, drivers, sweepers and others has started sanitizing the city against any epidemic. A fleet of 550 garbage trucks is busy round the clock.

The roads are being cleaned and a work force of 3,000 is engaged 24/7 to maintain sanitation. The municipality has fielded 300 electrically operated compressor garbage storage tanks in the holy city to keep unpleasant odor away. These storage tanks are towed away and taken to sites outside Makkah, where the garbage is immediately incinerated.

One hundred teams will spray insecticides in Makkah, especially around the Grand Mosque, to maintain hygiene, Al-Bar said, adding that a team of hundred workers with a fleet of 10 garbage trucks is on stand by to meet any emergency situation.

A team of supervisors survey all shops selling foodstuff. If the team finds any stuff past expiry date it is removed and the shop is fined.

Similarly, all the five butcheries are provided with veterinarians to check the animals before slaughtering and check meat after the animal is slaughtered. The meat shops are kept under continuous surveillance by the inspectors to ensure pure and good supply of meat.

The restaurants and hotels too are checked off and on, and samples of foodstuff are sent to laboratories for checking. These steps are taken to protect the Umrah visitors from food poisoning.

Continuous power supply to the 56 tunnels stretching 30 miles is ensured and roads and bridges are kept under watch to guarantee smooth flow of traffic.

The six parking lots around Makkah are provided with toilets, adequate supply of water for drinking, and mosques for offering prayers, all kept in readiness for the comfort of the Umrah visitors from the Kingdom and from the Gulf countries, said Al-Bar.

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After discharging from hospital, Saudi King Salman tweets Eid Al Adha greetings

Agencies

July 31,2020

Dubai, Jul 31: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia tweeted early on Friday sending congratulations to everyone on Eid Al Adha.

"I congratulate everyone on the blessed Eid Al Adha. May Allah [grant us another Eid where we will be in] good, blessings, health, and wellness," King Salman said.

"We also ask [God] to accept the pilgrimage of those who completed Haj, and [to accept] Muslims' prayers, and to remove the coronavirus pandemic in our countries," he added.

King Salman left King Faisal hospital in Riyadh after recovering on Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.

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Hosting ‘limited’ hajj required double efforts amid pandemic: Saudi king

Agencies

July 31,2020

Makkah, Jul 31: Organising this year's scaled-down hajj required "double efforts" by Saudi authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic, King Salman said Friday after being discharged from hospital following gall bladder surgery.

Only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom are participating in this year's pilgrimage, compared with 2019's gathering of some 2.5 million from around the world.

"Holding the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic... required reducing the numbers of pilgrims, but it obliged various official agencies to put in double efforts," 84-year-old King Salman said in a speech read out on state television by acting media minister Majid Al-Qasabi.

"The hajj this year was restricted to a very limited number of people from multiple nationalities, ensuring the ritual was completed despite the difficult circumstances," he said.

The speech came on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice, a day after the king left hospital following a 10-day stay for surgery to remove his gall bladder.

The hajj, which began on Wednesday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.

Authorities implemented the "highest health precautions" during the rituals, the king said.

Pilgrims, who were all tested for the virus, are required to wear masks and observe social distancing.

For Friday's "stoning of the devil", the last major ritual of the hajj, Saudi authorities offered the pilgrims pebbles that were sanitised to protect against the pandemic.

In a sign that its strict measures were working, the health ministry reported no coronavirus cases in the holy sites on Wednesday or Thursday.

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Dubai lucky draw: Kerala man wins Rs 7.59 crore; NRI wins BMW motorbike

News Network

May 22,2020

Rajan Kurian with wife Berly Rajan Kurian, son Brian, daughter Bella and mother Valsa

Dubai, May 22: A 43-year-old Indian businessman won USD one million (approximately Rs 7.59 crore) in the Dubai Duty Free draw.

Rajan Kurian, who owns a construction business in Kerala, had bought the ticket online.

Mr Kurian said he was grateful for the win, considering the gloomy circumstances prevailing in the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I will set aside a good part of my win to help the needy. I feel grateful with the win but I need to share it with people who need it," he said.

Mr Kurian said some of the money will go into growing his business.

"The last few months have been tough with the COVID-19 situation. My business has come to a standstill. This money will be put to good use," he said.

An Indian expat also won a BMW motorbike in the lucky draw held on Wednesday.

A longtime resident of Dubai for 30 years now, 57-year-old Syed Hydrose Abdulla, who works as a public relations officer in a beverages company, had also bought the ticket online.

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