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Saudis seek Fatwa on stoning devil
In a bid to avoid any deadly stampedes in future, the latest of which claimed the lives of 363 people last week, the authorities also unveiled plans to replace the current Jamarat passage with a 10-level structure, to ensure the safety of pilgrims on this site where incidents over the years marred one of the five pillars of Islam.
The Al Jamarat platform, where three pillars representing the devil are located, will be rebuilt with one underground level and four 100-metre wide ramps that can accommodate 250,000 pilgrims per hour, said Osama Al Bar, Head of Haj Research Centre. There will be 12 entrances and 12 exits. The current site has just two levels, including one 80-metre wide ramp leading to a platform from which pilgrims pelt stones at the pillars.
 On Thursday, some 600,000 pilgrims were squeezed in at the ramp when about a dozen people stumbled over baggage, tripping others behind them and causing the deadly crush. The disaster happened as pilgrims flocked to the Jamarat Bridge in Mina to hurl stones at a pillar representing the devil.He said the construction, which aims at both preventing accidents and accommodate the expected increase in pilgrims, would be completed within two years. Other improvements being made include multiple vehicle tunnels to facilitate traffic flow and a landing area for helicopters that might be required to rush in medical aid. Haj Minister Fouad Al Farsy thanked King Abdullah for sanctioning the SR4 billion project. The first phase of the project , which is a four-floor facility, will allow 500,000 pilgrims to perform the ritual in one hour. This will accommodate three to five million pilgrims per year. This year around three million pilgrims performed haj. Posted by: Steve White 2006-01-18 |
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