Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — The Haj Ministry's e-portal, which was launched on Sunday to help domestic pilgrims register with service-providing companies, has come for heavy criticism. According to prospective pilgrims, only about 70,000 out of 500,000 people who visited the website were able to register on the portal, which stopped working hours after the launch. A ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the portal collapsed because a large number of users tried to log on at the same time. The ministry claimed that as many as 39,594 Saudis and expatriates registered in the e-gate within eight hours of its launch on Sunday. The ministry said on Sunday that it had extended the time limit for payment of fees after reserving seats with Haj service companies through the e-gate to 72 hours in response to demand from the pilgrims.
