Number of Umrah Pilgrims Exceeds 166,000

According to the Hajj Information Base, in today's meeting of the Planning and Coordination Council of the Supreme Leader's Delegation and the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, which was held under the chairmanship of Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Abdolfattah Navvab, Nasrollah Farahmand, CEO of the Umrah Saadat Institute, pointed out that the Umrah pilgrimage to the land of revelation continues during the months of Ramadan and Shawwal, and said: "Given the measures taken, the number of Iranian pilgrims, which was estimated at 175,000, will increase to 205,000."

Referring to the provision of ten- and 14-day packages during the Ramadan periods, he reported on the measures planned for holding Umrah after the upcoming Hajj and reminded of the importance of providing flights and transferring foreign currency, with the expectation of sending about 400,000 people for the upcoming Umrah.

The Supreme Leader's representative for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs also emphasized that if domestic companies cannot cover the required flights, foreign companies should be used to prepare the ground for sending pilgrims.

In this meeting, Mr. Akbar Rezaei, Deputy Director of Hajj and Umrah of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, also presented a report on the administrative areas of Hajj 1404 and referred to the discussions held with Iran Air for the transfer and return of pilgrims and the officials of the Harams Train for the transfer of Iranian pilgrims from Medina to Mecca and vice versa.

Alireza Bayat, Head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, also referred to the negotiations held with Iran Air, and stated, "Other capacities have been foreseen for sending the remaining pilgrims and in some cases, agreements and contracts have been reached so that there are no problems in sending the pilgrims."

In the continuation of this meeting, the Deputy Director of Shrines of the Hajj Organization, referring to the recent trip of the Hojat al-Islam Navvab to Iraq and the visit and pathology conducted of the way services are provided to Iranian pilgrims in the pilgrimage cities, Bayat stated: "The problems are being resolved and the service situation is gradually improving so that the pilgrims' satisfaction will increase."

He referred to the measures and follow-ups taken in the areas of nutrition, transportation, and flights, and emphasized, "The existing system does not meet the needs and a new system must be designed and implemented in accordance with the assigned mission."

Morteza Aghaei also announced the start of Nowruz registrations, and added, "With the ongoing negotiations, we hope to create a good capacity for air dispatch of pilgrims."

The head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization also emphasized that it is necessary to review the process of shrine operations and asked the deputy of shrines to conduct this review before the end of the final year and submit its report to the Planning Council.

The representative of the Supreme Leader for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs also emphasized that those who are doing very well in providing services to pilgrims should be encouraged and the failure to implement the programs should be addressed more quickly to eliminate the shortcomings of some companies.

This meeting ended with a report by Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Hussein Rukn al-Dini, Deputy Cultural Director of the Mission, and Dr. Seyed Ali Marashi, Head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Medical Center, regarding the allocation of cultural servants to the caravans and examinations of the upcoming Hajj pilgrims.

The Deputy Cultural Affairs Minister said: "So far, nearly 940 cultural servants have been appointed, and if a new convoy is announced, we have no problem assigning cultural servants." The head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Medical Center, noting that about 50 percent of the examinations of Hajj pilgrims for 1404 have been carried out so far, pointed out that about 160,000 people have visited medical centers during this year's Umrah pilgrimage, and announced the number of deaths since the start of the Umrah operation to date as 20 and 5 in Mecca and Medina, respectively.