To make Haj even safer and convenient, the number of pilgrims allowed for stone throwing at the Jamrat Bridge has been reduced to 300,000 per hour. Though the bridge has a capacity to hold 500,000 pilgrims, it was decided to reduce the number after tests conducted in five workshops, said Dr. Habeeb Zain Al-Abedeen, Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and supervisor of developmental projects. New programs are being designed to guide groups of pilgrims for making the stone throwing ritual safer. These programs will involve participation from the Haj and Umrah companies. He said 60 percent of the third phase of the bridge's project was completed. The rest is expected to finish by Nov. 13 this year. This phase deals with adding of two more entries and exits, construction of fourth and fifth tiers and also finishing four buildings with 70 escalators. Dr. Habeeb added that the preparation for the fourth phase had begun. A number of facilities and camps have been removed from its location where work is expected to start next year. He also said that they were considering multiple entries and exits to ease movement of the massive amount of pilgrims. After completion of the second phase, pilgrims from Makkah were allocated to the third floor during the last Haj season. This ensured that pilgrims from other areas like Al-Moaisim and Majar Al-Kabsh did not mix up with pilgrims of Makkah and it helped to maintain significant control over the crowd. – Okaz __
