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Meena Camps To Be Substituted By 20-Story Building
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| The Meena camps- a
symbolic feature of the Hajj Season
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Report
By Attia El-Tayeb
HOLY
CITY OF MECCA, February 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Saudi
government has decided to start an ambitious plan to remove the Meena Camps (a
few kilometers away from Mecca) and substitute them with 20-story-buildings.
The
white tents of Meena are one of the most prominent features, which Mecca has
been noted for throughout the Islamic History.
This
decision came during the current Hajj (the Muslim annual pilgrimage) season
after the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz agreed to the plan and
ordered the formation of a committee to supervise its construction.
The
committee will include officials from the Interior Ministry, the Public Works
Ministry, the Ministry of Housing, the head of the Supreme Hajj Committee, the
Prince of Mecca and the Minister of Hajj.
Speaking
to IslamOnline, Dr. Habib Zein ElAbedeen, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of
Public Works said Saturday that the aim of the project is to reduce the load
from the camps after the number of pilgrims increased both from inside Saudi
Arabia and from outside.
The
first phase of the project will include the erection of hundreds of 20-story
buildings, which would hold nearly 50 thousand pilgrims.
Several
Saudi construction companies will start building the project, which is expected
to finish during the next couple of years.
Meanwhile,
the Saudi authorities have decided to stop the pilgrims from cooking in the
Meena camps, and to only limit themselves to the ready made and canned food.
This
precaution was for safety concerns as in previous years many fires had broken
out in the camps due to cooking practices and hundreds of pilgrims have died.
Saudi
authorities announced on Saturday, February 9 that no demonstrations or
political activities will be allowed during the Hajj season against the United
States. Saudi airports, meanwhile, have installed special eye-scanning and
fingerprinting equipment for the pilgrims to avoid any alleged terrorist
activities.
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