Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Haj has unveiled plans to further
strengthen the electronic regulations to improve the services as well as
streamline the arrival and departure of pilgrims with the beginning of
the Umrah season on Nov. 23 (Safar 1).
Minister
of Haj Bandar Hajjar will attend on Thursday a meeting of the concerned
officials and heads of Umrah service providers to discuss the updated
electronic services, the Saudi Press Agency reported. This will be the
second meeting aimed at developing the international electronic network
for Umrah and further improving the services and facilities for pilgrims
in the new season.
Eissa Rawas, deputy
minister for Umrah affairs, said the meeting is being convened in view
of the resounding success of last year’s Umrah season when a total of
6.15 million foreign pilgrims performed the lesser pilgrimage.
“The
meeting will discuss the pros and cons of last year’s Umrah operation
plan to improve the facilities and services. Introduction of the
e-regulations has contributed significantly in upgrading the services,”
he said.
Hajjar announced recently that
the arrangements made during 2012 to restrict the number of pilgrims
because of space constraints due to the ongoing expansion of the Grand
Mosque would continue in the coming season also. The ministry made 20
percent and 50 percent cuts in the number of foreign and domestic Haj
pilgrims respectively while the period of Umrah visas was reduced from
one month to 14 days.
The e-tracking
system is the major highlight of the e-regulations introduced by the
ministry. The system enables the ministry to have an electronic control
on the entire process, including issuance of visas, monitoring of
services provided to pilgrims, entry and departure of pilgrims etc.
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