Hajj tragedy, 2004

I had the opportunity to perform the Holy Hajj twice along with some friends and female members of our family during the years 1998 and 2001. All of us had to face many problems to perform the Holy Hajj. Especially the old people had to bear the extreme hardship due to rush of pilgrims and narrow roads/passageways. People had to move only by buses and cars. There were no other alternatives.

The world population is increasing and more and more people would like to perform the Holy Hajj every year. Therefore the infrastructure to accommodate the large number of pilgrims and their safe movement should be ensured by the Saudi government who is the custodian of the holy sites.

Mr. Awal has given some concrete suggestions for building underground railway and subway system to cope with the rush of pilgrim and their safety. I would request the Saudi government to look into this matter immediately and take appropriate action to solve the problem. If necessary Saudi government can take the assistance of renowned Muslim engineers/architects of OIC/other countries for their suggestions/recommendation. The main idea is to provide safety, security and safe movement of the millions of pilgrims during the Holy Hajj. It is therefore expected that the Saudi government will take appropriate measures to avoid the accidents in which many innocent people are giving their life which can be avoided.