The announcement was made last week by Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majid, Governor of the Holy City of Madinah.

According to him, the success of the 1428 Hijra Haj season was achieved through the efforts of civil and public servants who rendered their services following the guidelines laid down by the authorities.

Prince Abdul Aziz said that the rules and regulations for the prize will be drafted and hoped that the presentation of the honour will encourage groups operating in the Haj and Umrah sector in Madinah to do even better.

"It will also encourage evolution of new work patterns, and ways of offering services to the pilgrims," he said.

In a related development, the Ministry of Haj is to announce new rules to improve services provided to Umrah pilgrims.

It is hoped that the shortcomings faced during the last season will be overcome. The new rules include automatic payment for the services the Umrah pilgrims receive from Saudi companies and establishments.

With a view to checking the problem of overstaying by Umrah visitors, there will be a close follow-up of their departure from the kingdom after the performance of Umrah.

The ministry is also working on ways to provide better and more comfortable means of transport to domestic pilgrims to the Holy City of Makkah and the Holy sites and is preparing a study.

It will include ending the system of hiring buses from abroad and methods to determine suitable mechanisms for creating new means of transport.

In this regard, the ministry is coordinating with relevant companies and establishments dealing with domestic pilgrims to determine the number of buses they use.

They have been asked to provide details about the pilgrims they served during the last Haj season.

Khaleej Times

Güncelleme Tarihi: 18 Mart 2008, 16:59