The General Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has provided 5,000 wheelchairs, including 100 electrically-operated wheelchairs, for physically-challenged Haj pilgrims. The capacity of each of these wheelchairs was increased from 200 kilograms to 300 kilograms. Muhammad Al-Shamrani, director of the wheelchair section, said that 18 entrances were allocated for the wheelchairs. “We grant licenses to owners of wheelchairs and monitor their work around-the-clock. We designed new plastic cards to prevent anyone from counterfeiting wheelchair permits. A committee was formed to deal with the incorrect practices of some wheelchair owners which disturb pilgrims.” Al-Shamrani urged pilgrims to take good care of the free electric wheelchairs and to return them to the section after performing their rituals. He also advised pilgrims not to deal with unlicensed wheelchair operators and to use the routes allocated for wheelchairs.
