MAKKAH — As many as 23,050 personnel will be implementing the Makkah municipality's Haj plan, according to Mayor Osama Al-Bar. "The municipality has finalized its operational plan and programs for this year's Haj, avoiding any loopholes or mistakes that may have occurred in last year's plan," he said. Al-Bar said the plan is characterized by flexibility and quick service and added that the municipality has mobilized all its human resources and material potential for the ideal execution of the plan. "We also have supporting teams from the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, other municipalities, the Department of Public Security, and the Boy Scouts," he said in statements published on Wednesday. The mayor said a number of students from the universities and health colleges will be appointed as temporary health observers. Al-Bar said there will be more than 10,900 cleaners in Makkah equipped with 670 cleaning devices to collect garbage in more than 170 electrically pressurized boxes. "The cleaners will be covering 24 hours a day in shifts. There will also be central teams to deal with emergency situations resulting from rain or fires," he said. The mayor said there will be more than 7,800 cleaners in the holy sites equipped with more than 360 cleaning devices and automatic sweepers. "The municipality has prepared 1,025 electrically pressurized boxes and 131 stores to keep more than 14,000 tons of garbage," he said. He said the plan also consists of closely monitoring the markets, shops and eateries. "There are about 33,000 permanent shops and eateries in Makkah in addition to 2,229 seasonal grocers. The holy sites have 643 temporary shops, kiosks and bakeries in addition to a number of barber shops consisting of 1,100 chairs," he said. The mayor said the toilets, tunnels, flyovers and the networks to drain rain and flood water will be closely watched to immediately address any issues. He said the municipality has established 57 control centers in various places in the holy sites to observe the entry of animals to the slaughterhouses. “There will be a veterinarian check for the animals to make sure that the meat provided to the pilgrims is suitable for human use," he said.
