Mataf expansion progress
31 August 2013
31 August 2013
You have contributed 0.4% of this topic
Tuesday 3 September 2013
Saudi Arabia will not be lenient with violators of Haj regulations, the Council of Ministers said Monday, reaffirming the Kingdom’s move to prevent Saudis and expatriates from performing the annual pilgrimage without Haj permits.
“The Kingdom will be strict in executing punishment on violators of Haj regulations,” said Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja after the Cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense.
The Cabinet was referring to the public awareness campaign titled “Haj is Worship and Civilized Behavior,” which was launched by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal on Sunday, ahead of the pilgrimage that begins on Oct. 13.
Expatriates going for Haj without valid permits would be deported immediately and will not be allowed to come back to Saudi Arabia for 10 years, Prince Khaled said during the launching ceremony. Tough punishments will be imposed on unauthorized Haj agencies and owners of vehicles that help undocumented pilgrims reach the holy sites.
The Cabinet urged all government departments and private agencies to make all preparations to provide the best possible services to the guests of God. The government has decided to reduce the number of foreign pilgrims by 20 percent and domestic pilgrims by 50 percent this year because of ongoing expansion works at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
Khoja said the Cabinet discussed a number of cultural, scientific and economic activities witnessed by the Kingdom last week. It commended Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for endorsing a program to support the steadfastness of Palestinian cities and donating $200 million for the project.
The program, which was announced at a conference of Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities in Makkah on Sunday by Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Prince Mansour bin Miteb, aims at developing Palestinian cities.
The Cabinet was also briefed on the Kingdom's participation in the Beijing International Book Fair. The Saudi pavilion at the fair attracted a large number of visitors. The Cabinet thanked China for selecting the Kingdom as the first Arab and Muslim guest of honor of the Beijing Book Fair.
The Cabinet meeting also appreciated the measures taken to ease the burdens of litigation with the opening of the qualitative specialization sections within specialized courts and the intensification of training support for judges.
The Cabinet approved the agreement with Kuwait in the field of air transport services, which was signed in Jeddah on last Oct. 1. It endorsed the membership of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance in the Standing Committee for Money Laundering.
The Cabinet decided to add a representative of the Investigation and Public Prosecution Bureau to the committee on combating organized crimes and human trafficking at the Human Rights Commission.
It appointed Sulaiman bin Saleh Al-Nasyan assistant undersecretary for school affairs at the Ministry of Education; Abdulmohsen bin Musaed Suwailem consultant engineer at Riyadh Mayoralty; Adi bin Faleh Al-Buqami secretary of the Regional Council at Eastern Province Governorate; Saud bin Abdullah Al-Obaisi assistant undersecretary for services at Riyadh Mayoralty; and Abdullah bin Zaid Al-Rajeh assistant undersecretary for security affairs at Baha Governorate.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/463386
2 Sept 2013
4 September 2013
Saudi security authorities have begun preparations to stop Saudis and expatriates wanting to perform the annual pilgrimage without valid Haj permits.
“We have already taken some measures to put an end to the problem of undocumented pilgrims during the Haj season,” said Deputy Makkah Gov. Abdul Aziz Al-Khodairy.
He said there would be changes in the location of checkpoints along the roads to Makkah, Mina and Arafat to prevent people from sneaking into the holy sites.
“We’ll use advanced monitoring cameras at checkpoints,” he said after holding a meeting with senior security officers in the region to discuss mechanisms to stop Haj law violators and implement punishment on them.
Security officers at checkpoints would keep a close watch on incoming pilgrims in order to stop illegals.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal announced on Sunday that expatriates sneaking into the holy sites without Haj permits would be deported immediately and would be banned from entering the Kingdom for 10 years.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/463470
First Indian Haj flight arrives Saturday
136,020 Indian pilgrims set for Haj 2013
New Delhi, India
5 September 2013
The first group of Indian Haj pilgrims arrive in Madinah on Saturday on an Air India flight from Goa.
This is according to E. A. Ahamed, Indian minister of state for external affairs, who spoke to journalists at a press conference at the consulate in Jeddah Wednesday. Consul General Faiz Ahmad Kidwai also attended the press conference.
The first flight from Ranchi arrives on Sept. 16 in Jeddah.
Ahamed said that Saudi Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar welcomed the arrangements made by the Indian government for its Haj pilgrims. The two men had a “very cordial, positive and fruitful” 45-minute meeting in Jeddah.
Ahamed said there were no major problems or issues, but just some minor points that Hajjar said he would look into.
“For example, we received a communication from the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) that they intend to reduce the quantity of Zamzam carried by pilgrims on return flights from 10 liters to five liters. According to the Indian Mission this is in violation of the agreement between India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation and GACA,” Ahamed said.
The minister added that Hajjar said he had not instructed his ministry to introduce such a stipulation.
Ahamed said they have agreed to give metro train tickets to all Indian pilgrims coming through the Central Haj Committee for stations one and two. Indian pilgrims will not use station three because it is 3 km from their accommodation.
He said 136,020 pilgrims would come from India, of which 121,420 will be through the Central Haj Committee and 14,600 through private tour operators.
Saudi Arabian Airlines will operate from nine locations in India bringing in 74,090 pilgrims, whereas Air India will operate from 12 locations and fly in 47,330 pilgrims.
Saudia will operate flights from Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Calicut, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Jaipur to Jeddah; and from New Delhi, Lucknow and Varanasi to Madinah.
Air India will operate flights from Aurangabad, Bhopal, Chennai, Ranchi, Indore, Nagpur and Gaya to Jeddah; and from Guwahati, Kolkata, Mangalore, Goa and Srinagar to Madinah.
He said that Mobily SIM cards with SR5 talk time, with preloaded numbers of important Haj officials, would be given free to pilgrims at embarkation points in India. Gas will be refilled free twice in Makkah buildings.
For the first time, each pilgrim will be given a 750-gram packet of dates on arrival in Makkah and Madinah.
Ahamed said he was in Makkah on Monday and was satisfied with all arrangements including at the hospital, branch offices and dispensary. He said everything was in place in Madinah too.
He urged Indian expatriates in Saudi Arabia not to perform Haj without valid papers. The minister said they should abide by the rules and regulations of the Kingdom.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/463608
First group of Lankan Hajis arrives Sept. 13
2,240 Sri Lankan pilgrims would perform Haj this year
Mosque Marata Sri Lanka
5 September 2013
The first group of Sri Lankan Haj pilgrims will arrive at the Haj Terminal in Jeddah on Sept. 13.
The country’s Consul General Adam Bawa Uthumalebbe told Arab News on Wednesday that 2,240 Sri Lankan pilgrims would perform Haj this year. “Last year we had 3,200 pilgrims but the quota was reduced this year by 20 percent because of the ongoing development work in the holy city of Makkah,” he said.
SriLankan airlines and Saudi Arabian Airlines are transporting the pilgrims this year, he said.
“Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given special instructions to the Sri Lankan missions in the Kingdom to offer the best facilities and services to the Lankan pilgrims,” Uthumalebbe said.
He said the consulate would deploy a team at the Haj Terminal to welcome the pilgrims. The officials would offer refreshments and attend to the needs of the pilgrims until they leave for the holy cities.
He said his mission had formed three teams in Makkah, Jeddah, Mina and Madinah to assist the pilgrims. In addition to the mission’s staff, volunteers have also been brought in to help. A medical team is accompanying the pilgrims.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry has sent two diplomats to the Saudi Embassy in Colombo to issue Haj visas. According to an official from the Saudi Embassy in Colombo, work on issuing visas is taking place smoothly.
This year, pilgrims will be coming through a network of 40 travel operators from Colombo.
Two months ago, senior minister in charge of Sri Lankan Haj operations, Abdul Hameed Mohamed Fowzie, signed the Haj agreement with Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar in Jeddah.
Fowzie had said that this year first-time pilgrims would be given preference. “I have also stipulated the minimum cost for each pilgrim, which should include airfare, accommodation and internal travel.” He warned that the government would punish travel operators who try to exploit pilgrims.
Around 7 percent of the country’s 20.2 million inhabitants are Muslim. This year, Fowzie and Deputy Minister A R.M. Cader will join the pilgrims during the latter part of the season.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/463603
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
Please wait...
