Saudi helpline assists Hajj pilgrims in Urdu
The Saudi government on Wednesday announced that its 937 Health Call Centre was now offering multilingual support to Hajj pilgrims around the clock, including in Urdu.
Hajj, one of the fundamental pillars of Islam, is performed each year by millions of Muslims from around the world. Pakistan receives one of the highest Hajj quotas from Saudi Arabia.
According to a press release from the Saudi Embassy, the call centre "plays a vital role in the Kingdom's healthcare response during Haj." "The centre is designed to enhance access to health services, offer medical guidance, and ensure [a] timely response to emergencies," the press release read.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
4 days ago
- Business Recorder
Saudis use AI, drones and thousands of cameras to keep hajj pilgrims safe
Working day and night in front of maps, screens and seemingly endless data, Saudi officials have harnessed artificial intelligence to help manage the million-strong sea of pilgrims during the hajj. The technology has proven pivotal to track the overwhelming amount of footage from more than 15,000 cameras in and around the holy city of Mecca. The systems are tuned to spot abnormal crowd movements or predict bottlenecks in foot traffic – a potential life-saver at a packed event with a history of deadly stampedes. Software is also used to help guide more than 20,000 buses deployed to transport pilgrims between holy sites during one of the world's biggest annual religious gatherings. Million-plus pilgrims to begin Hajj under blazing sun It is all part of the tech arsenal that Saudi Arabia is deploying as 1.4 million faithful from across the globe descend on Mecca and its surrounds. 'In our traffic control room, we use specialised cameras that have AI layers to analyse movements, crowded areas' and predict behaviours, said Mohamed Nazier, chief executive officer for the General Transport Centre at the Royal Commission for Mecca. The centre has a main control room in Mecca filled with screens and maps, where staff use high-tech tools including AI for round-the-clock monitoring. About a dozen staff members sit in rows before desktop computers with a large display at the front, zooming in on crowd movements around the holy sites. On hillsides nearby, cameras that resemble little white robots film buildings, roads and pathways along the hajj route, which winds more than 20 kilometres (12 miles) between Mecca and Mount Arafat. Nazier said the constant monitoring is aimed at averting traffic collisions with pedestrians on crowded routes while also making sure there are buses available to minimise walking time in the desert heat. 'Our eye on the ground' It is a decade since the hajj suffered its worst disaster, a stampede that killed up to 2,300 people during the 'stoning of the devil' ritual. Hundreds also died in stampedes in 2006, 1998 and 1994. In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were trampled to death or asphyxiated when a tunnel ventilation system failed. With its cutting-edge technology, 'the control room is our eye on the ground,' said Mohammed al-Qarni, who oversees the hajj and the year-round umrah pilgrimage at the transport centre. Artificial intelligence helps to determine 'the flow on the (roads to the holy sites), and detects emergency situations even before they occur', he told AFP, adding that the technology can help assess the number of people in a single place. Cameras and AI can estimate if a site has reached maximum capacity, allowing authorities to divert the flow of pilgrims, Qarni said. During the holy month of Ramadan this year, the system spotted when the Grand Mosque had reached full capacity. 'The flow to the Haram (Grand Mosque) was stopped and the process controlled,' he said. Thermal imaging The use of advanced technology extends beyond logistics, also tracking unregistered pilgrims, who accounted for most of the 1,301 deaths in sweltering conditions last year. As temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit) last year, unauthorised worshippers who lack access to air-conditioned tents and buses bore the brunt. Temperatures are forecast to top 40C this week. The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be completed by all Muslims with the means at least once. Yet not everyone is able to secure or afford one of the official permits, which are allocated to countries by quota and awarded to individuals by lottery. To try to stop anyone sneaking in this year, a fleet of camera-equipped drones is monitoring entrances into Mecca. 'We use artificial intelligence and other tools like drones and thermal imaging cameras,' the director general of public security, Lieutenant General Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Bassami, told reporters. Meanwhile, the Saudi Special Forces for Roads Security said it was using 'smart thermal imaging' to monitor the perimeter of Mecca and the holy sites.
Business Recorder
5 days ago
- Business Recorder
Million-plus pilgrims to begin Hajj under blazing sun
MAKKAH: More than a million worshippers were set to join Islam's most important rite under a beating sun as the Hajj pilgrimage kicked off Wednesday, with authorities scrambling to avoid last year's 1,000-plus deaths in sweltering heat. In temperatures that are expected to climb to more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), robed pilgrims will slowly circle the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site – the black cubic structure at the centre of Makkah Grand Mosque. About 1.4 million pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of the multi-day hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam that must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means. Authorities have ratcheted up anti-heat measures such as extra shade to avoid a repeat of last year, when 1,301 people died as temperatures hit 51.8C (125.2F). Pilgrims come together in Makkah under scorching desert heat On Wednesday, pilgrims will perform the tawaf – walking seven times around the Kaaba, which Muslims worldwide pray towards each day. They then head to Mina, the site of a giant tented city, before the Hajj's high-point: prayers on Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is believed to have delivered his final sermon. Before entering Makkah, pilgrims must first enter a state of purity, called ihram, which requires special dress and behaviour. Men don a seamless shroud-like white garment that emphasises unity among believers, regardless of their social status or nationality. Women, in turn, wear loose dresses, also white, exposing just their faces and hands. Pilgrims arriving on buses were already trickling into Mina on Tuesday afternoon, greeted by staff offering them coffee and dates. 'I am so happy, it's such an amazing feeling,' said Reem al-Shogre, a 35-year-old Saudi national performing Hajj for the first time. Artificial intelligence Following last year's lethal heatwave, authorities have mobilised more than 40 government agencies and 250,000 officials, doubling their efforts against heat-related ailments. Shaded areas have been enlarged by 50,000 square metres (12 acres), thousands of additional medics will be on standby and more than 400 cooling units will be deployed, Saudi Arabia's Hajj minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah told AFP last week. Artificial intelligence technology will also help track the deluge of data and footage, including video from a new fleet of drones, to better manage the massive crowds. Authorities said most of the deaths last year were among unregistered pilgrims who lacked access to air-conditioned tents and buses. This year, they have stepped up a crackdown on unregistered worshippers, using frequent raids, drone surveillance and a barrage of text alerts. PIA successfully completes its pre-Hajj operations Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota basis and distributed to individuals by lottery. But even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs prompt many to attempt the Hajj without a permit, even though they risk arrest and deportation if caught. Large crowds at the Hajj have proved hazardous in the past, most notably in 2015 when a stampede during the 'stoning the devil' ritual in Mina, near Makkah, killed up to 2,300 people in the deadliest Hajj disaster. Makkah Route Initiative to be expanded: minister Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam's holiest sanctuaries in Makkah and Medina, earns billions of dollars each year from the hajj, as well as the lesser pilgrimage known as umrah, undertaken at other times of the year.
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Express Tribune
Pilgrims warned of high temperatures
Saudi authorities have asked pilgrims performing the Hajj to remain in their tents for several hours during the high point of this week's pilgrimage, citing high temperatures. According to a report in Saudi media, Hajj Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah has requested that pilgrims refrain from leaving their tents between 10:00am and 4:00pm on Thursday. The "Day of Arafat" traditionally marks the high point of the hajj, when pilgrims scale Mount Arafat on the outskirts of Makkah. There, pilgrims assemble on the 70-metre (230-foot) high hill and its surrounding plain for hours of prayer and the holy Quran recital, staying there until the evening. There is little to no shade on Mount Arafat, leaving pilgrims directly exposed to the harsh desert sun for hours. "We warn against climbing mountains or high places on the Day of Arafat, as it causes extreme physical exertion and increases the risk of heat exhaustion," the health ministry said in a separate statement published by Saudi media. Temperatures this year are forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius as one of the world's largest annual religious gatherings, bringing together devotees from around the globe, gets under way on Wednesday. Officials have beefed up heat mitigation measures hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's hajj, which saw 1,301 pilgrims die as temperatures reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit). This year, authorities have mobilised more than 40 government agencies and 250,000 officials, doubling their efforts against heat-related illness following the lethal heatwave of 2024. Shaded areas have been expanded by 50,000 square metres (12 acres), thousands more medics will be on standby, and more than 400 cooling units will be deployed, the Hajj minister told AFP last week. As of Sunday, more than 1.4 million pilgrims had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage, officials said. AFP
