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Millions of Muslims performing Haj this year will use the new Jamarat bridge, facilitating more space, better flow and less congestion during the Jamarat ritual.
Millions of faithful performing Haj this season will use the new Jamarat bridge, part of a SR4.2-billion project, initiated to facilitate the pilgrims, for the first time.
The first phase of the Jamarat project, being implemented under the supervision of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, will be over well in time for this Haj season. Under the project, the basement, the ground floor and the first floor along with its two entry ramps and three exits and the necessary requirements will all be ready.
The project has been undertaken by the Kingdom in earnest to help facilitate the pilgrims, Dr Habib Zain Al-Abideen, Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, told Haj & Umra.
The project, once completed in two years’ time, will have four floors, besides a ground floor and basement. Even with the changes made to the bridge, the pilgrims this year, according to Dr Habib, will feel that there is “more space, better flow, less congestion” during the Jamarat ritual.
The ground and first floor will be used by pilgrims coming from the east of Mina, who account for the bulk of the crowd. The second level, once complete will be used mainly by pilgrims coming from Makkah, the third level by those coming from the north of Mina and new pilgrim camps and the fourth level, by pilgrims coming from the south of Makkah through King Abdul Aziz Road. The top level will be covered with a similar material used for the tents, rather than concrete, to provide shade for the pilgrims from sun and rain.
The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has also published a pamphlet detailing the Jamarat Plaza plan. According to the pamphlet, only pedestrian traffic will be allowed on Ground Floor, which will also have first aid centers, civil defence staff besides other essential services.
The pamphlet advises the pilgrims coming from Al-Meaysem, Al-Shuayb Al-Gharby and Al-Sharqy in Mina to perform their stoning rituals on the Ground Floor.
The First Floor, meanwhile, is planned to be accessed from Mina by two ramps. North Ramp is preferred for pilgrims coming from Northern Mina (Suk Al-Arab and Al-Jawhara Streets), while the South Ramp could be used by pilgrims coming from Southern Mina Pedestrian South Street and King Faisal Street. The level may be exited by three ramps, two leading towards Mina and the third to Makkah.
The design of the bridge aims at reducing congestion on the Jamarat Bridge and thereby avoiding the occurrence of stampedes.
Dr Habib pointed out that the bridge will also help the emergency staff to provide quicker and thus better services since trouble spots, God forbid if any, would be more accessible even at peak hours.
He pointed out: “There will be fewer chances of congestion since there will be more entry and exit points. The maximum width on the bridge will be close to 100m at the Jamarat basins and narrows down to 60m in between. The total length of the floor, including the ramps, will be about 1,000m.”
Dr Habib pointed out: “The unique structure is in harmony with its surroundings. Area around the Jamarat is also spacious and column-free.”
With better orientation effects through proper finishing and better lighting, the Jamarat bridge will also appear better, he said. “Comfortable atmosphere will mitigate excitement and reduce anxiety and rushing,” he added.
The shape of all the three Jamarat Basins remains the same, elliptical. This provides the pilgrims a better and a smoother approach and more time to complete their ritual. “The flow of the crowd will be better because of the shape of the Jamarat basins. The shape will help separate the crowds to perform the ritual from both sides,” he said.
The density of the crowd on the bridge will also be monitored at all times through crowd monitoring and control system. “The maximum density allowed will be four persons per square meter,” Dr Habib said.
This year, the authorities expect 250,000 pilgrims per hour to use the two floors (ground and first). After the completion of the project (in 1429H) the bridge is expected to accommodate at least 625,000 pilgrims per hour.
Another plus this year will be absence of vehicles on the Jamarat Plaza. The authorities have tried to help create more space by shifting utility and emergency services to the basement, using tunnels to rush them if and when needed. Two helipads are also planned.
The underground floor is multi-purpose. “It connects the bridge through two tunnels to bus terminals. Emergency evacuations will be much easier to handle. For example an injured man could be taken down by elevators to the basement and transported much faster to medical facilities. The pebbles (stones) of lapidation (rajm) will be collected in the basement basin and transported away from the bridge much easier than before,” Dr Habib elaborated.
All garbage and stones will be transferred automatically from the ground floor to the underground area. There will be a mechanized storage area and trucks will take the debris out of Mina. In fact, there will be three main tunnels for transporting vehicles.
These tunnels will be connected to the service towers for use by garbage collectors, ambulances and other services.
The authorities have also put up warning systems in tent camps and have put up huge digital screens at major intersections to provide the pilgrims with the latest situation on the bridge. These screens last year provided figures and statistics showing the density of the pilgrims on the bridge.
Dr Habib said the project also included setting up of the most advanced early warning systems in order to avoid overcrowding and stampedes at the Jamarat Plaza.
Crowds at Jamarat plaza and on the bridge will be monitored through cameras, connected to the Operations Center that manages the bridge and the plaza. This will allow the authorities to act before a situation gets out of hand, the Ministry pamphlet states.
The authorities this year are planning a tight schedule that distributes pilgrims over the hours available for Rajm, to avoid overcrowding at the Jamarat Plaza.
Appropriate measures will be taken to manage and monitor streets, a pamphlet issued by the Ministry states. Pilgrims planning to stone immediately after Duhr prayer may be committing suicide and killing others, it cautions.
The Jamarat Plaza will also be organised in such a manner that crowd is not allowed to accumulate. There will be check on squatters (or unregulated pilgrims) as well. Routes of pilgrims flow are planned to prevent crossing lanes and collision between those heading for Rajm and those returning to their camps.
The authorities have planned the bridge keeping into consideration future development in the area. “Future extension of the bridge is possible up to eight floors and even more,” Dr Habib said.
The bridge can also cater to the needs of “houses on mountains and hills surrounding the valley. The bridge is planned keeping in view the future requirements such as railway transportation for increasing number of pilgrims,” the official pointed out.
The second and the third floors will be added to the structure for the 1428H Haj, while the project should be complete by the 1429H Haj with the addition of the fourth floor and a covering roof.
Asked whether the foreign Haj missions have been briefed about the new bridge, Dr Habib said: “The Ministry of Haj is doing a great deal in this area and we have participated by providing a lot of information about the project.”
It is obligatory to camp within the religiously defined boundaries of the standing and gathering sites. Camping outside these limits will invalidate Haj. To solve this problem, the improvement and development of these sites is being made within their religious boundaries so that they may accommodate the ever-growing numbers of pilgrims.
The pilot project of the residential towers in Mina, Dr Habib revealed, is planned to serve the pilgrims. “Six buildings, 13 storeys each, are planned. Three buildings will be put in to service this year,” he added.
Crowd management, which has been the buzz word for a couple of years, remains very much the backbone of the project.
It was on the request of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs that international experts in crowd dynamics studied the flow on Jamarat Bridge and around its basins during the stoning rituals. “Those aspects have been dealt with, since the conceptual design of the project and were included in the final design,” Dr Habib said.
The Central Directorate for Development of Projects at the Ministry, the department responsible for development and supervision of the Jamarat project construction, has helped conduct nine workshops this (1427H) year by the end of Sha’ban with the participation of international experts and the local parties concerned. The latter included Ministries of Haj and Health, General Security, Civil Defense, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Haj Research Institute, Red Crescent, and Mutawwifs’ representatives.
The workshops held so far have dealt with subjects such as: Management of Hajis’ Flows and Control of Human Crowds in Jamarat Area and Bridge; Scheduling, Coordination, Monitoring and Controlling of Hajis’ Groups in Mina and Jamarat Area; Awareness Strategies and Behaviour Management for Safe Haj; and Organisation of the Jamarat Plaza, Paths and Roads of Pilgrims and its Monitoring.
Dr Habib pointed out the authorities are preparing a programme for scheduling of the pilgrims’ groups to “practice in a safe flow for the stoning rituals according to the requirements dictated by the capacity of the Jamarat Bridge.”
He said: “We are also planning to hire services of some 2,000 observers who will watch for the adherence of Mutawwifs to the planned scheduling of the rajm ritual.”
According to published reports, more than 5,000 employees from the Saudi Binladin Group, which won the contract last year, have been working around the clock to complete the project.
Dr G. Keith Still, who in the recent years has been running crowd management workshops, is quoted on the Crowd Dynamics site as saying: “There is a physical limit to the number of pilgrims who can perform Haj every year based on the capacity and space of the holy sites. Much is written in the press about the “lack” of facilities and amenities - this makes me pretty angry as no other place/government in the world would dream of providing facilities and security, buildings and accomm-odation projects, food (logistics on food and water/toilet facilities alone are equivalent to mobilising a large city- there are over 2,500,000 pilgrims) for the event. My respect and admiration for the efforts go beyond mere words. Could things be improved? YES - but having worked with the various ministries/authorities for the last three years, I can assure you that no expense is being spared to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.”
(Courtesy: Haj & Umra Magazine-Jeddah)
Reproduced with permission from Haj & Umra Magazine.
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