JEDDAH — The Ministry of Haj has unveiled plans to
further strengthen the electronic regulations to improve the services as well
as streamline the arrival and departure of pilgrims with the beginning of the Umrah season on Nov. 23 (Safar 1).
Minister
of Haj Bandar Hajjar will attend on Thursday a meeting of the concerned
officials and heads of Umrah service providers to discuss the
updated electronic services, the Saudi Press Agency reported. This will be the
second meeting aimed at developing the international electronic network for Umrah and further improving the services and
facilities for pilgrims in the new season.
Eissa
Rawas, deputy minister for Umrah affairs,
said the meeting is being convened in view of the resounding success of last
year’s Umrah season
when a total of 6.15 million foreign pilgrims performed the lesser pilgrimage.
“The
meeting will discuss the pros and cons of last year’s Umrah operation plan to improve the
facilities and services. Introduction of the e-regulations has contributed
significantly in upgrading the services,” he said.
Hajjar
announced recently that the arrangements made during 2012 to restrict the
number of pilgrims because of space constraints due to the ongoing expansion of
the Grand Mosque would continue in the coming season also. The ministry made 20
percent and 50 percent cuts in the number of foreign and domestic Haj pilgrims
respectively while the period of Umrah visas was reduced from one month to 14
days.
The
e-tracking system is the major highlight of the e-regulations introduced by the
ministry. The system enables the ministry to have an electronic control on the
entire process, including issuance of visas, monitoring of services provided to
pilgrims, entry and departure of pilgrims etc.
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