Authorities announced at noon that all the pilgrims had reached Mina from nearby Mecca, following in the footsteps of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) some 14 centuries ago.
Saudi Interior Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, said the number of pilgrims from outside the country totalled 1,379,531, down 21 per cent from last year’s 1.75 million.
Around 1.29 million of them had flown to Saudi Arabia from 188 countries, he said, without giving a figure of pilgrims residing in the kingdom whose number is believed to have been halved.
The kingdom cut by 20 per cent the quotas for pilgrims allowed in from abroad over fears of MERS and because of massive projects to expand the capacity of the grand mosque, Islam’s holiest place of worship.
Saudi Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabia, told reporters late Saturday that the authorities had not detected any case of MERS virus among the pilgrims which has killed 60 people worldwide, 51 of them in Saudi Arabia.
Authorities have stepped up measures to curb illegal pilgrims, who infiltrate into Mecca through desert roads.
Security officials have said that as many as 31,000 Saudi and expatriate pilgrims were turned back for not carrying legal permits, while around 12,600 others were arrested.
The pilgrims moved to Mina by road, by train or on foot, the men wearing ihram, the seamless two-piece white garment that rituals require, the women covered up except for their faces and hands.
In Mina, a small site with 45,000 fire-resistant tents that can accommodate two million people, they will pray and rest before moving on to Mount Arafat on Monday for the climax of the pilgrimage rituals.
A newly-constructed electric railway transported around 400,000 of the pilgrims taking part in the world’s largest annual gathering.
Saudi Arabia has deployed more than 100,000 troops to ensure the safety of the pilgrims and has warned it will tolerate no demonstrations or disturbances.
Security forces are monitoring the holy sites in and around Mecca with 4,200 hi-tech cameras, some of which can cover a distance of 60 kilometres (37 miles).
Authorities said more than 20,000 buses are ferrying the pilgrims to Mina, using 58 tunnels under Mecca’s mountains.
But some pilgrims, like Egyptian Mustafa Abu el-Wafa, decided to walk the 10-kilometre distance despite the heat and humidity.
“I am so excited that I finally managed to perform the hajj and come to the areas that the Prophet (Mohammed) had once been to,” Wafa said as he walked towards Mina.
From Mina, pilgrims will head to nearby Mount Arafat, where they will spend Monday in prayer until sunset.
The oil-rich kingdom has also mobilised huge medical and civil defence resources to ensure the smooth movement of the pilgrims.
The fact that the kingdom accounts for the overwhelming majority of MERS cases reported around the world has raised concerns pilgrims could be infected and return to their homelands carrying the virus.
But authorities have voiced the confidence the hajj will pass without the incident.
This year’s minor pilgrimage season, called the “umrah,” during the fasting month of Ramadan in July-August, passed off without any MERS outbreak even though millions of Muslims took part.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that every capable Muslim must perform at least once.
Despite being marred by deadly incidents in the past, including floods, stampedes and fires, the hajj has in recent years been almost incident-free, thanks to multi-billion-dollar projects by Saudi authorities. Chris Agbambu, Abuja.
Meanwhile, as the Muslim faithful in Nigeria celebrate the 2013 Eid-el- Kabir on October 15 and 16, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), M. D. Abubakar, on Sunday, ordered all heads of operational units at commands and formations of the Force nationwide to put in place high visibility policing strategies targeted at achieving a secure, peaceful and incident-free celebration.
This directive is contained in a police signal issued on October 12 by the Office of the IGP and addressed to Assistant Inspectors-General of Police incharge of zones and state Commissioners of Police.
A statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba, disclosed that the IGP further directed commanders incharge of Police Special Forces — the Air Wing, the Maritime Command, the Counterterrorism Unit and the Border Patrol Unit — to ensure purposeful and strategic deployment of their personnel and logistics to ensure all criminal threats are effectively checkmated.
According to the statement, the command Commissioners of police are to adequately protect all essential infrastructure and vulnerable points including highways, motor parks, places of worship, shopping malls and recreation centres.
To this end, the statement noted that,Commanders of Police Mobile Force Squadrons are to ensure that their respective Quick Reactionary Units remain on high alert throughout the holiday period.
The IGP, according to the statement reminded operational commanders that though the nation is on holiday, policemen are not on holiday and all commanders are expected to remain at their beats and posts throughout the Sallah period.
Meanwhile, officers and men deployed for the Eid-el Kabir celebrations have been enjoined to conduct themselves in a most professional manner, in line with the Force Code of Conduct and Professional Ethics and other extant laws regulating the rules of engagement. The IGP charged them to be mindful of the fundamental rights of the citizens, while discharging their responsibilities.
The IGP, on behalf of officers and men of the Nigeria Police, extended hearty greetings to all Muslim faithful in Nigeria, as they join their brothers across the globe to mark the 2013 Eid-el Kabir.
He expressed the belief that Almighty Allah will in answer to their fervent prayers, grant the nation the grace to overcome its current challenges.
He sought the support, understanding and cooperation of all Nigerians in the ongoing transformation of the Nigeria Police, pledging the unalloyed loyalty of the Force to our fatherland
No comments:
Post a Comment