Fahd Al-Manaee Saudi Gazette MAKKAH – All government agencies connected to this year's Haj operations have been granted extra powers to implement the safety plans designed by the Makkah Civil Defense Directorate for this year's season. Each agency's crisis management department will nominate a representative to be at the emergency operations center in Mina and respond to any emergency that falls within his line of duty. The center is run by Civil Defense Directorate personnel and staff from all relevant government departments. They will work in coordination with each other to deal with any emergency situation that might take place during Haj. Inside the center, there are representatives from the ministries of defense, interior, Haj, health, water and electricity and information and culture, as well as from the Public Security Administration, Border Guard Directorate, Security Forces Hospital and Presidency of Meteorology and Environment. All representatives have been trained on how to respond to several common risks and manage any crisis by taking preventive measures during Haj. Maj. Muslim Al-Osaimi, representative of the National Guard, said the goal of all representatives is to ensure the safety of pilgrims and mitigate the effects of accidents, if and when they occur. Abdullah Al-Siwat, representative of the National Water Company, said the company ensures the holy sites are supplied with adequate quantities of water. The company also provides Civil Defense firefighters with alternative sources of water if there is a shortage in the reservoirs, he added. Abdullah Al-Awfi, representative of the Ministry of Transport, said the ministry's mission is to provide enough buses to evacuate pilgrims from camps and take them to safe places in case of any emergency.
