Makkah News and Updates

Monday 1 July 2013

Daily water supply to Makkah has been increased to 120,000 cubic meters.
“With this increase the total daily supply will reach 670,000 cubic meters, which will be the highest quantity of daily supply compared to the 480,000-520,000 cubic meters provided previously,” spokesman of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) Sultan Al-Otaibi said in a statement on Saturday.

He said the SWCC governor commissioned a fourth pumping station to commence work at the Al-Shuaiba plant and ensured the preparedness of the Makkah branch of the National Water Company (NWC) to adjust to the excess supply.

He said four water pumps at three Shuaiba-Mina stations are earmarked to supply water to the strategic reserve tanks in Mina and Arafat. “The four SWCC pumps will continue supplying water until there is sufficient storage in Makkah. Additional reserve lines will be laid to counter any unforeseen disruption.”

Makkah will have full water capacity in Ramadan, he asserted.
SWCC resumed water supply to Makkah last week after a breakdown, which lasted several days. The breakdown was due to a leak that appeared in a major supply line from the Al-Shuaiba plant to the holy city.

Director of Makkah and Taif Works Unit in the NWC, Abdullah Ahmad Hasanain, said that with the water supply resumption, water distribution to most districts in Makkah has been normalized. “The daily pumping cycle has reached 35 percent with quantities of water reaching 415,000 cubic meters per day,” he said.

The areas included the districts of Al-Zaher, Faisal Badr, Al-Azizia Al-Sharqiyah, Wadi Jaleel, Ajyad, Al-Misfalah, Al-Massafi, Al-Malawi Al-Yusra, Al-Maabdah Al-Muthallath, Ree Dhakhir, Dahlat Al-Jinn, Sab Al-Banat, Jabal Al-Kaaba, Al-Magharibah, Al-Mansouriyah, Jabal Juhaishah, Al-Gashlah, Al-Kidwah, Harat Hummos and Kuday.

Makkah requires the maximum quantity of water during Haj when 3 million pilgrims visit Makkah and Mina. Similarly, there is a large demand for water during Ramadan when pilgrims flock to the holy city.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/456721

Jun 30, 2013

With millions of people expected to participate in the annual Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina between July and October, the heightened risk of global spread of MERS-CoV infection in the period is causing concern among health officials.

The Umrah or "lesser Hajj" is expected to peak during the holy month of Ramadan between July 9 and August 7 this year, while the "greater Hajj" will take place from October 13 to 18.

Experts fear that due to the fact that the virus can spread through close contact, the peak periods of Umrah and Hajj, in which millions of pilgrims crowd in holy sites in Mecca and Medina, heighten risks of transmission of the virus and could trigger mass global outbreak of the illness as infected pilgrims returning home after the Hajj spread the infection. The annual Hajj alone draws about 3.7 million Muslims from around the world. Foreign Policy reports that last year, about 6 million pilgrims visited Saudi Arabia as part of the annual Umrah-Hajj pilgrimage.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), WHO and Saudi health officials are working ahead of the annual Hajj and the peak period of the Umrah to track and control spread of the new deadly virus and prevent a mass outbreak during the pilgrimage.

MERS-CoV has proven deadlier than the 2003 SARS outbreak which killed about 800 people, with similar symptoms including fever and cough that develops into pneumonia.

Death rates are higher among MERS-CoV patients. While only about 8 percent of SARS patients died more than 50 percent of MERS-CoV patients have died. Since September 2012, WHO has reported a total of 64 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV and 38 deaths, more than half the number of cases.

Voice of Russia reports that the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia recently announced an additional three laboratory-confirmed cases.

WHO officials say that because MERS-CoV infections have not been previously identified in humans experts have very little knowledge about its transmission, clinical features and treatment. The number of cases that have been reported are not enough to build a complete picture of the infection.

So far, the Middle East has been the focal point of transmission, with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar the major countries in the Middle East where cases have been reported. The highest incidence has been in Saudi Arabia and it is possible that the infection was introduced and spread during previous pilgrimages. Cases have been reported in Europe: France, Germany, the UK, and Italy. All the European cases have been linked to the Middle East.

According to the CDC, the Embassy of Saudi Arabia has recommended that the elderly, the terminally ill, pregnant women and children refrain from conducting the Hajj.

CDC advises pilgrims to protect themselves from infection by washing their hands very often and not touching their mouth, nose, or eyes. Pilgrims should also avoid contact with sick people and seek medical care if they develop symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath within 14 days of returning from the pilgrimage.

Authorities have issued no directives or recommendations that people should change their Hajj travel plans over fears of MERS-CoV infection. However, WHO has expressed concerns that the virus could spark a pandemic.
Digital Journal reported that while addressing the closing of the 66th session of the World Health Assembly, the D-G of the WHO, Dr. Chan, raised an alarm, saying that the Middle East respiratory symptom coronavirus was a "threat to the entire world."

According to Digital Journal, Chan said: "We understand too little about this virus when viewed against the magnitude of its potential threat. We do not know where the virus hides in nature. We do not know how people are getting infected. Until we answer these question, we are empty-handed when it comes to prevention. These are alarm bells. And we must respond... The novel coronavirus is not a problem that any single affected country can keep to itself or manage all by itself. It is a threat to the entire world."

http://www.digitaljournal.com/articl...#ixzz2XfoB0eDl

Tuesday 2 July 2013

The Department for Prophet’s Mosque Affairs has outlined a comprehensive plan for the annual ritual called “itikaf”.

Itikaf essentially refers to the stay in a mosque for prayer and meditation.
In a statement posted on its website, the department has listed the terms and conditions for people who wish to perform itikaf.

According to the plan, those interested must ensure that the holy mosque is kept clean, other worshippers are not disturbed and that they should end their itikaf after Isha prayers on the eve of Eid.

Prospective individuals intending to perform itikaf have been advised to only bring in a cover and a cushion, and not to place their personal belongings onto windows, in shoe boxes and in the bookshelves that have been especially set aside for copies of the Qur’an.

Those performing itikaf are also asked not to sleep in prayer rows and to only do so in designated areas located in the northern side of the mosque.
Itikaf is an Islamic practice consisting of a period of spiritual retreat in a mosque for a certain number of days.

It is most common during the month of Ramadan, especially during the last 10 days, and is a Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Muslims who perform itikaf are encouraged to spend their time reading the Qur’an, performing prayers and seeking blessings from the Almighty Allah.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/456787

 

Completion of the Haramain train station
30% in Jeddah and 16% in Makkah
Transport: work is going on as planned

إنجاز30% من محطة قطار الحرمين بجدة و16% بمكة
النقل: العمل يسير وفق ما خطط له

Wednesday 3 July 2013

Companies in Madinah are racing to complete the demolition of properties on the eastern side of the Prophet’s Mosque before Ramadan. The space is needed for the expansion of the mosque.

The companies started their work three months ago and demolished 60 percent of the buildings. The removals include more than 25 hotels, including Al-Nakheel, Dallah and Al-Awqaf hotels, and other residential buildings. The Al-Ansar market and the maternity hospital will also be demolished.

Sources told local press that 100 buildings would be demolished on the eastern side of the mosque. Compensation for the 125 hectares is expected to total SR 25 billion.

Work on the western side will start after Ramadan.

A Madinah historian, Dr. Tuneidib Al-Faydi, said there are no historical relics on the eastern side of the mosque. Historical sites are found in the northwestern side including Budaa Well which belonged to the Prophet (peace be upon him).

This well was in the area of the Bani Saedah tribe and was close to their Saqifa, a shaded place for gathering, where they met during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The expansions will extend up to Salee’ Mount, a small mountain located at the northwestern entrance of the mosque.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/456901

 

Fans and Lights Installation Fnished...Cieling painting going on ....Hundreds of workers are there

 

 

 

Now 03- July-2013