Despite the density of worshipers who flocked in large numbers since dawn to perform the second Friday prayer in the month of Ramadan at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, the careful organization of the management of crowds headed by the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, in coordination with the security, achieved success for the operational plan.

About a million and a half worshipers performed Friday prayers in a safe and healthy devotional atmosphere. The corridors and squares of the Grand Mosque did not witness any bottlenecks amid a system of integrated services provided by the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques and a high flow in managing the crowds of millions of worshipers.

The corridors, floors, basement, roofs and courtyards of the Grand Mosque, were filled with worshipers who flocked to it since the early morning. Lines of worshipers extended to the roads, squares and neighborhoods surrounding the Grand Mosque according to the highest international service quality standards. The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques works to provide a devotional environment that provides the finest services to those who visit the Two Holy Mosques and services of disinfection, sterilization and cleaning at the highest level. around the clock.

Success of Crowd Management Plans at Grand Mosque

Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman Al–Sudais, president of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, announced the success of the operational plan for the second Friday of the blessed month of Ramadan.

The plan accommodated scenarios and plans drawn up by all agencies that were fully prepared with human forces to enable the pilgrims to perform their worship with ease. Al–Sudais confirmed that no bottlenecks were detected, and there was a great flow of crowds from all doors, which led to easing congestion in the lower floors of the Grand Mosque according to governance and impact measurement and with systematic plans, procedures and mechanisms for managing crowds.

These measures were developed in advance to ensure safety and easy access and ease for all worshipers while ensuring effective and continuous coordination and communication with all stakeholders in the Grand Mosque, which contributes to the success of managing large crowds according to the highest levels of safety and security.

It also raised the absorptive capacity of all the courtyards, and corridors of the Grand Mosque, and implemented the plan of promotion and crowd management to receive pilgrims and worshipers at the courtyards of the Grand Mosque, until they finish performing all their rituals.

The Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque were equipped with doors in front of the worshipers, to perform the second Friday prayer of the month of Ramadan, amid a great crowd of efforts from those in charge of the Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques at the level of providing services to worshipers and Umrah performers.

The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques was also keen to purify and sterilize all security barriers at the Grand Mosque, using disinfectants, sterilizers and fresheners, to receive worshipers during Friday prayers. The Presidency provided an integrated system of services to receive millions of pilgrims, worshipers and visitors according to an integrated work system between all agencies and departments concerned with providing field services to pilgrims to the Grand Mosque.

The services of the worshipers included awareness services through the educational centers with their interactive devices and qualified employees in providing educational services and implementing their approved programs for the blessed month of Ramadan, in cooperation with success partners from government agencies. The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques also prepared the full operational capacity for the third Saudi expansion, the external squares, and the expansion of King Fahd.

It prepared proactively with a tight implementation plan and mobilized all its human, service, operational and technical energies to achieve full flow and provide comprehensive services in light of the huge and significant increase witnessed by Friday prayers in the Grand Mosque.

Moreover, the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques succeeded in achieving the set goals, which are related to the smooth movement of worshipers and the absence of human masses that impede movement at the main doors, in the end, and in the outer pathways of the sanctuary squares.

The Presidency has prepared free vehicles, vehicles for people with special needs, entrances to the Grand Mosque and opened the courtyards of the Grand Mosque at full capacity, which greatly contributed to facilitating the pilgrims to perform their rituals with ease and ease and harnessed all the capabilities of the Presidency agencies and its various departments and its human and operational preparations.

The Agency for Promotion and Crowd Management at the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has allocated 500 qualified and trained field employees for the tasks of organizing the entry, exit, and movement of pilgrims and visitors inside the Grand Mosque, through corridors, paths, and doors designated to serve them.

In addition to directing the worshipers to the designated prayer areas through human cadres who have sufficient experience to  deal with the density of the crowds and directing the worshipers according to the least dense places to avoid crowding. The operational plan for the month of Ramadan was characterized by the diversification and intensification of initiatives, programs and services, to achieve maximum comfort for pilgrims, pilgrims and visitors, and to give top priority to maximizing guest service.

Around 12,000 thousand employees served 3 million pilgrims around the clock, in addition to maximizing the field operational services system, whether robots for sterilization, disinfection and perfuming, and guiding robots that direct visitors and pilgrims on how to perform the rituals, give fatwas and answer the questioners.

Moreover, simultaneous translation services into international languages and communication were provided, as well as robots distributing gifts to pilgrims at the Grand Mosque. The smart robot is equipped with a screen with audio speakers that can be changed and modified at any time; It works with 3D sensors to avoid collisions with objects and an automatic navigation system.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP