Saudi Gazette report MADINAH – The Ministry of Haj can now process documents of pilgrims who want to travel from Makkah to Madinah in record time, thanks to an automated system installed recently. The new system allows the ministry to simultaneously contact the General Cars Syndicate, transport companies, relevant Tawafa establishments and other pertinent authorities and get the departure procedures for each bus to be completed in just three minutes. In the past, this process took a considerably long time due to lengthy paperwork. Issa Rawas, undersecretary for Umrah affairs at the ministry, said as a result of paperwork, pilgrims often had to wait for hours before they could depart. However, the ministry's new automated system allows simultaneous exchange of information among several pertinent bodies. “The ministry has tested out the system several times before using it to make sure it is reliable, fast and capable of reducing processing time,” he said. “The information exchanged on the system included the number of pilgrims who want to depart to Madinah at a particular time. Once the cars syndicate receives this information, it makes available sufficient number of buses for the job, of course, after cross-checking all information,” he added. The ministry has also set up checkpoints at all exit points from Madinah to verify travel information of all departing pilgrims.
