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More than 6 million Umrah pilgrims expected this year

February 16, 2013

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Jeddah, Feb 16: Over six million Umrah pilgrims are expected in Saudi Arabia this year, one million more than last year, said Minister of Haj Bandar bin Mohammed Al-Hajjar, in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency yesterday.

“The number of Umrah pilgrims is expected to cross the one million mark in the month of Ramadan alone. An average of 400,000 pilgrims are arriving every month this season,” said Al-Hajjar.

The current Umrah season began on Dec. 14 last year and will last until the end of Ramadan in the first week of August.

The ministry has issued more than 1.3 million Umrah visas so far; while 775,000 pilgrims have already arrived in the Kingdom, Al-Hajjar said.

There has been a 10 to 20 percent annual increase in the number of pilgrims over the past few years, he said.

The minister said the most Umrah visas were issued in Egypt, Pakistan and Algeria, based on reports from Saudi missions in more than 70 countries.

Umrah applications are processed with the help of an integrated digital system, he said.

“The ministry, with the help of the digitized system and field inspectors, is monitoring all services offered to pilgrims to ensure they get speedy and excellent services specified in their packages,” Al-Hajjar said.

The ministry is also supervising and inspecting locations where companies in Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah provide Umrah services. The ministry also accepts complaints from pilgrims if they have any, he said.

The minister stressed the need for Umrah companies to stick to the agreements they sign with their clients. The ministry’s inspection teams will report defaulting companies and take action against them, he warned.

The minister dismissed reports that the expansion of the mataf, the area to circumambulate around the Kaaba, would reduce the number of pilgrims this year.

The minister said the massive multi-billion riyal expansions underway in Makkah and Madinah are to ensure maximum comfort and safety for pilgrims and visitors.

The ministry is coordinating efforts with other departments and agencies to conduct studies and generate new ideas to offer better services.

“The ministry is keen to minimize the practice of pilgrims squatting in the courtyards of the two holy mosques and nearby areas this year,” the minister said.

He added that the ministry is working with the Interior and Foreign ministries to end the practice of some pilgrims not leaving the country after their pilgrimage.

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News Network
May 4,2020

Dubai, May 4: An Indian salesman in the UAE has won a whopping 10 million dirhams at an Abu Dhabi draw, a media report said.

Dileep Kumar Ellikkottil Parameswaran, from Kerala’s Thrissur, works with an auto spare parts company in Ajman and earns 5,000 dirhams (USD 1,361) a month, Gulf News reported on Sunday.

Parameswaran, who won the 10 million dirhams (USD 2.7 million) prize at the Big Ticket draw in Abu Dhabi, will spend a big part of the money to repay a loan of 700,000 dirhams (USD 190,574 ), according to the report.

He said that a good part of the prize money will be spent on the education of his two children.

Parameswaran, who has been a resident of the UAE for 17 years, lives in Ajman along with his family.

Big Ticket is the largest and longest-running monthly raffle draw for cash prizes and dream luxury cars in Abu Dhabi.

A live monthly draw is organized at the Abu Dhabi International Airport on 3rd of each month.

Tickets are sold for 500 dirhams (USD 136).

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News Network
May 20,2020

Cairo, May 20: A senior Kuwaiti lawmaker has called for imposing a tax on expatriates’ remittances to shore up the country’s finances.

MP Khalil Al Saleh, the head of the parliament’s Human Resources Committee, has presented a draft law on the proposed tax to the legislature.

“Imposing fees on expatriates’ transfers will have a role in improving the state's revenues and diversify sources of income,” he told Al Rai newspaper.

Migrant workers transfer about 4.2 billion dinars annually from Kuwait, he added, citing figures from Kuwait’s Central Bank.

“This system is in effect in most countries of the world and in more than one Gulf country. Expats there have not objected to it. Allowing this money to exit the country is very dangerous and has a direct effect on economy,” MP Al Saleh said.

“We do not target brotherly expats because imposing symbolic fees on financial transfers will not affect their money, but will have a positive effect on the state’s sources,” he said. “This has become a necessity after the money transferred outside Kuwait has reached 4.2 billion dinars annually without the state [Kuwait] making any benefit from this.”

Foreign workers make up 3.3 million of Kuwait’s 4.6 million population.

Several Kuwaiti public figures have recently pushed for redrawing the demographic imbalance in the country, accusing expatriates of straining health facilities and increasing the Covid-19 threat.

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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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