Workers busy cleaning the Holy Sites as Haj draws near. Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Abdullatif Al-Asheikh said the ministry has prepared a full-fledged Haj plan, and all the departments under the ministry are fully geared to implement it in coordination with other ministries and departments. More than 23,000 employees have been engaged to implement the plan. — SPA Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah and adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, said the authorities have sent back a total of 160,000 domestic pilgrims trying to enter Makkah and the Holy Sites without Haj permits. “The statements of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, are sufficient in this regard. We won't allow anyone to disturb the purity of Haj or undermine the security and safety of pilgrims,” he said. Prince Khaled, who is also chairman of the Central Haj Committee, made the remarks while chairing the meeting of the committee at the Haj terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport on Tuesday night. He also inspected the elaborate arrangements and facilities made to receive the pilgrims at the terminal. Prince Khaled met a group of pilgrims who expressed satisfaction with the services extended to them. More than 1.3 million foreign pilgrims are expected to arrive for Haj this year. As of Tuesday, a total of 736,649 pilgrims had arrived in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Meanwhile, 118 field service offices under the South Asian Tawafa Organization have been allocated tent sites to function their offices in Mina and Arafat. The Ministry of Health will deploy 830 field medical staff and 100 small ambulances to offer emergency medical services to pilgrims in Makkah and the Holy Sites. As many as 3,000 girl students from 13 government schools in Makkah will participate in a program to entertain women pilgrims in nine districts of the holy city.
