Additional safety advice for Haj pilgrims from Oman this year, says official

Muscat: More safety advice will be given to Haj pilgrims by the Oman government, a senior official at the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs, said.
“The Haj mission usually carries out awareness programmes for pilgrims using all means of communications, such as printed material. This time, there will be extra effort put in to urge Haj pilgrims to adopt safety measures,” Dr Mohammed bin Said Al Mamari, scientific advisor at the Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs Office, said.
The official added that the mission considers the pilgrims’ safety as one of the most important aspects of its responsibilities.
Last year, on September 24, a crane had collapse causing the death of at least 769, according to Saudi Arabia’s official figures. The Saudi government also said that 934 others were injured. However, the death count estimates varied in different reports.
On September 11, a crawler crane had toppled over the Grand Mosque and 111 people were killed. Around 394 were also injured.
Recently, there were reports that one of the countries in the region has said that it will not send pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year for the annual Hajj, citing safety issues.
Hassan Bava, a Haj operator in Oman for the last three decades, said they have plans to organise special pre-departure classes where extra safety advice will be given to the pilgrims.
“Every year, we provide safety advice to the pilgrims. However, this year, we have put in extra efforts,” Bava added.
“We will follow the Oman Minister of Endowments and Religious Affair’s Office’s instructions strictly,” Bava added.
Guidelines
According to the Haj operator, they will advise the pilgrims to be in group during the pilgrimage in Saudi, follow the Saudi authority’s guidelines and timings strictly, identity cards with them wherever they go and also have the hotel telephone numbers with them.
Ahmed Maseedhuddin, manager of Haj and Umrah at Moon Travel in Oman, said they will follow whatever instructions are given by the ministry and advise the pilgrims to follow it strictly.
A total of 9,081 people had received text messages last Monday informing them that their Hajj pilgrimage has been approved, even as more than half of the applications were rejected.
The number of approved pilgrims for Haj this year was announced by the Ministry of Endorsement and Religious Affairs. Almost half of those who had applied received an approval, the Ministry of Endorsement and Religious Affairs’ official social media account revealed.
The ministry announced that among the 18,587 who applied for this year’s Haj, only 9,081 were approved.

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