Rain Disrupts Final Day Of HAJJ

Rain Disrupts Final Day of Hajj
Syed Faisal Ali, Siraj Wahab & Hassan Adawi, Arab News

MINA, 23 January 2005 — A torrential downpour that swept Mina disrupted the retreat of pilgrims as this year’s Hajj drew to a close yesterday. The rare spell of rain started belting down across the arid valley around 3 p.m. as many of the 2.56 million pilgrims began streaming out of the tent city after performing the stoning ritual for the third consecutive day.
On the final day of Hajj the valley was abuzz with rumors about some kind of incident or accident at the Jamrat Bridge. However top security sources denied any untoward incident had occurred. The sources, however, did acknowledge that there was some kind of trouble brewing in the area near the bridge after pilgrims had massed in large numbers with their bag and baggage.
According to an independent estimate some 20-25 pilgrims sustained injuries as a result of a minor stampede. The situation was immediately brought under control by alert security men. They stood their ground and helped the elderly and infirm when the rain came pouring down and the pilgrims began to run helter-skelter. Many pilgrims were also reported missing in an otherwise trouble-free and peaceful Hajj which according to old-timers was the best organized ever. No one was reported dead or sustaining serious injuries though eyewitnesses said many were bleeding as they were taken to hospital.
As trouble started at the Jamrat Bridge area security forces monitoring the area from helicopters alerted ground staff who immediately sprang into action and brought the situation under control. Dozens of ambulances with their sirens blaring were at hand to ferry the injured pilgrims to nearby hospitals.
Indian and Pakistani Hajj missions contacted by Arab News denied any knowledge of any incident. “All our pilgrims are safe,” they said. Among the missing were, however, many Indians and Pakistanis. They included Hafeezunnisa of Ambedkarnagar, her husband Khaliqur Rahman, Kunhi Moinuddin, Shamsuddin and Amina (all Indians); and Sherbhadur from Pakistan, Bilal and Moinuddin from Bangladesh and Raisul Islam from Nigeria.
Right from early morning Mina was enveloped by thick black clouds and a strong wind was blowing across the valley. The skies finally opened up at 3 p.m. Though the rain subsided after a couple of hours it was still drizzling at press time. Water and electricity supplies were cut soon afterward but restored after an hour. Knee-deep water flooded all streets from Mina to Makkah and threw traffic off gear.
Vehicles were stranded in the waterlogged streets. Traffic police were seen helping small cars out of the floodwaters. Huge cranes were used to lift stranded buses out of the way.
Eyewitness accounts from pilgrims trapped in the flash floods showed that they were caught off-guard and were paralyzed by fear of being drowned. At least one of the victims contacted by Arab News was overwhelmed with emotion as he gave a graphic account of the panic that had gripped the pilgrims.
Mujib Ibne Raza Siddiqui, who works for Saudi Research & Publishing Co., told Arab News that “the swirling floodwaters came rushing down the hills and gushed forth into tents sweeping away mattresses and other things lying on the floor. There was total chaos, each one for himself or herself. People were running helter-skelter to escape from the torrents.”
He continued: “We ran out carrying whatever we could in knee-deep waters. At one point the water level rose so high that some cars began floating. Should anyone, God forbid, slip and stumble, he could have been swept away. The main reason was that these tents were located right on the path of the floodwaters racing down this hilly region.”
In another eyewitness account, Manzar Khan, a bank employee, said the force of the floodwaters swept away bags and brief cases from the tents. “Our entire camp has been deserted. We are simply unable to go out for the stoning rituals, because there is no place where we can deposit our luggage.”
Jamil Yousuf, a Filipino who works for Elaf Hotel in Makkah, said the downpour was so sudden that the pilgrims were caught unawares. This created chaotic scenes leading to the loss of their belongings.
Munseer Rafee, a Sri Lankan national, said one of the main reasons for the flooding was the poor drainage system in the Mina area. In the absence of storm water drains, the streets got flooded creating panic and confusion in their wake. However, ambulances and civil defense personnel rushed to the scene to rescue people marooned in the floodwater, said Rafee, who had to wade through knee-deep waters.
As the rain force decreased, the streets of Mina were littered with all kinds of trash. Watches and costume jewelry were swept downstream as wayside vendors abandoned their wares and ran for cover when the downpour came. But the vendors who were fleecing the pilgrims for the past four days suddenly turned do-gooders, removing old Hajis from harm’s way.
The ferocity of the downpour caught the pilgrims by surprise but if did not surprise officials at the South Asia Establishment for Pilgrims. Engineer Mahmoud of the establishment said: “We were prepared for the rain as it was forecast. Thankfully, the rain came on the final day of Hajj when the pilgrims are in Mina. Had it rained earlier the entire administration machinery would have been thrown out of gear.”
“Mina is a valley. There is an outlet for water in the valley,” said the official.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were still in Mina without finishing the lapidation ritual. According to convention, these pilgrims who fail to leave Mina before nightfall should stay back for another day to complete their rituals.
Many of the pilgrims were ecstatic at the day’s rain because according to them this was a sure sign that God had accepted their Haj.
Authorities have called this year’s Haj the largest in history, saying up to three million people attended. Latest figures put the number at 2.56 million.
Saudi television showed images of the pilgrims under the heavy rain performing the stoning ritual and the mandatory circumambulation of the Kaaba.
Authorities have introduced measures to deal with the crowd passing over the Jamrat Bridge in Mina. Last year, 251 people were trampled to death when they were caught in a stampede.
This year, lines of security men have created a human barricade forcing pilgrims to exit the opposite end of the bridge which can carry 160,000 pilgrims per hour, according to authorities.
The pilgrims will start heading home late today.
— With input from Javid Hassan in Riyadh