Government | Saturday 4 July, 2015 4:21 am |

The Civil Defense has rescued 105 pilgrims trapped in vehicles and buildings for various reasons since the start of Ramadan. 

During the first 10 days of the month, it also had to deal with 255 complaints, which included 150 accidents due to fires in apartments and commercial buildings.
Capt. Fahd Al-Bitha, director of the guidance control administration of the Civil Defense, said officers at the control center deal with complaints by identifying callers and then providing detailed directions for field teams. 
He said there are about 2,000 closed-circuit cameras monitoring the movement of pilgrims. “We have a comprehensive emergency response plan to meet any type of contingency,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Al-Ahmadi, security forces commander, said that his department uses state-of-the art technology to monitor the movement of pilgrims inside and outside the Grand Mosque. The security system is equipped with high-resolution cameras.
Mansour bin Saeed Al-Qahtani, who is in charge of the television network systems in the city, said that closed circuit cameras have been set up to cover the inside of the mosque and the rest of the city. “There has been a 52 percent increase in the number of cameras inside the holy mosque, from 775 to 1,474,” he said.
The purpose of the system is to ensure a smooth flow of pilgrims to and from the holy mosque for the five daily prayers and the Umrah rituals. 
The last 10 days of Ramadan will see a major influx of pilgrims into the city from all parts of the world. 
most would come from the Kingdom and Gulf countries. There would also be significant numbers from Turkey, Algeria, Iraq, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia. 
According to sources, hotels in Makkah are likely to be 100 percent booked for the last 10 days of the month. The demand for accommodation is high in Makkah because of the ongoing development following the demolition of old buildings.
During the latter part of the holy month, accommodation in five-star hotels cost between SR31,000 and SR40,000 including suhoor and iftar for a period of 10 days.
Local hotels in Madinah, with tour operators, arrange visits to historical sites for the benefit of pilgrims. These include Quba Mosque, the first mosque built by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Madinah, Qiblatain Mosque where the Qibla was shifted from Al-Aqsa Mosque to the Kaaba, and the graveyard on the foothills of Mount Uhud where soldiers in the early years of Islam were martyred in battle.