Hajj stoning to be shortened after deadly stampede

Riyadh, Aug 24 (AFP) A stoning ritual which led to thedeaths of about 2,300 people during last year’s hajj will bemore tightly controlled during next month’s pilgrimage, Saudinewspapers reported today. The period during which pilgrims can perform the Jamaratritual will be reduced by 12 hours, the Saudi Gazette and ArabNews said. The symbolic stoning of the devil will be performed asusual over three days beginning September 11 at Mina, aboutfive kilometres east of Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiestsite. But this year there will be no stoning allowed from 6:00to 10:30 am on the first day, from 2:00 to 6:00 pm on thesecond day and from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm on the final day, thehajj ministry said. "This procedure will enable the pilgrims to throw stoneseasily and will prevent any stampede that may result fromovercrowding," the Saudi Gazette quoted ministryundersecretary Hussain al-Sharif as saying. He did not elaborate on how the new time restrictionswould reduce the potential for overcrowding. The stampede was the worst disaster in hajj history. It occurred outside the five-storey Jamarat Bridge, astructure resembling a huge parking garage which hosts thestoning ritual and cost more than USD 1 billion to build. It is almost one kilometre (more than half a mile) longand allows 300,000 pilgrims an hour to carry out the ritual. Pilgrims blamed the stampede on police road closures andpoor management of the flow of hundreds of thousands ofpilgrims in searing temperatures. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister whoalso chairs the hajj committee, ordered a probe immediatelyafter the disaster but there has been no word on its findings. However, officials have announced a number of safetymeasures including the revised stoning schedules. At least 2,297 pilgrims died during the stampede onSeptember 24, according to data from foreign officials, someof whom expressed concerns about difficulty in identifying thevictims. Saudi Arabia issued a death toll of 769. In another crowd control move, pilgrims are not allowed tocircumambulate the holy Kaaba one hour before or after regularprayers at the Grand Mosque when they begin their hajj, SaudiGazette and Arab News said. This year’s pilgrimage begins on September 9 but hundredsof thousands have already arrived from around the world. It is among the five pillars of Islam and every capableMuslim must perform it at least once in a lifetime. (AFP)UZM