Room for improvement : Pilgrims suggest widening Mina corridor

PESHAWAR:

Expressing grave concern over the Mina stampede during Hajj in Saudi Arabia, pilgrims who made it back in one piece asked for the expansion of the corridor where the tragic incident took place.

In a handout issued on Wednesday, Mufti Raeesur Rahman, Haji Osman, Mukhtiar Ahmad and Abdullah, who are associated with Al-Jamia, Al-Islamic, and Al-Farooqia, respectively, urged the custodian of Haram Sharif to revise arrangements to manage the crowd and minimise risk.

They said the lone Mina corridor, through which hundreds of thousands of pilgrims pass, lacked the space for such large numbers. They said both sides of the Mina corridor were separated by strong iron bars where pilgrims pitched their tents. The three of them believed that the removal of such obstacles could free the thoroughfare and widen it for people to cross safely.

They went on to explain the passage of pilgrims from Muzdalifah through Mina was a daunting task due to the extraordinarily large procession.

The pilgrims, drenched in sweat, are usually thirsty and perform their rituals in a suffocating environment. “The minutes-long walking distance through Mina till al-Khaif Mosque takes more than four hours due to overcrowding,” one of them said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2015.