HAJ

Haj, 1997: Government Fact Finding Team Report on Mina Fire

                                             (Relevant Extracts)                                            

On April 15, 1997 a devastating fire that took place in Mina, Saudi Arabia, has sent shock waves throughout the country as hundreds of Indian pilgrims were burnt, large numbers were missing and thousands sustained injuries. On April 23, 1997, the Prime Minister decided to send a. Fact Finding Team consisting of 3 sitting embers of Lok Sabha and a former Member of Rajya Sabha.

On 29th April, the Team returned to India.

The fire at Mina broke out on 15th April at 1130ours local time. Some pilgrims in Indian camp No. 59. Undergoing treatment in the hospitals told the Team that when they saw fire in the Pakistan camp across the road they were told that (the fire) would be extinguished then and there. But the fire devastated the Pakistani camps and on account of the direction of the wind, went across and destroyed at first 2 Indian camps Nos. 59 and 60. As the (fencing) of the camps are made of tin sheets majority of the pilgrims could somehow manage to escape successfully. But some of them could not escape as the back side of Camp 59 was surrounded by steep slope of a hillock ... Some pilgrims tried to climb, but many were unable to do so.

The Saudi officials gave the total number of the dead in the fire as 343. There is no other source to verify this figure. But the Indian officials feel that the number ophidians who died may be within the range of 150-200.Identification of the dead was an impossible task, since majority of the victims have been charred beyond recognition.

All injured persons are given the best possible medical treatment in the Saudi hospitals.

The Moallim is the nodal point in the Government arrangements for the Haj and is appointed by the Moassasah which is an apex body approved by the Saudi Government.

The Team could see irresponsibility on the part of private tour operators in the matter of dealing the situation and attending to the treatment of the injured or in search operation of the missing and even completing the formalities for the dead, from among the pilgrims they sponsored. These private tour operators are not under the control of the Haj Committee or the Mission Alleged Locking of Gate 59.

There was some controversy about the alleged locking of the gate of Camp 59 by the gateman at the time of fire, which is reported to have resulted in more casualties of Indian Hajees. Reported press statement of the Consul General created consternation in the Saudi echelon. However, the explanation given by the External Affairs Minister had helped to dispel the misunderstanding. The Team also discussed the matter with Indian Ambassador and the Consul General himself. The Team hereby quote the reply by the Ambassador to our query, which is as follows:

"Some of the pilgrims, interviewed several days after the fire, have stated that the door keeper at the gate Camp 59 locked the door when the fire was first noticed (in camps on the other side of the road). It is to be noted that the boundaries of the camps in Mina are made of tin sheets which are held together loosely. In addition, there are clearly marked fire exists on these tin sheet boundaries. The locking of the gate by the door keeper in question could have impeded or delayed escape of some pilgrims through this point. Others, however found the emergency exists or pushed down the tin barriers to create an exist. It is to be noted that the great majority of pilgrims int his camp, did manage to escape successfully. The locked door, therefore, was not an absolute impediment. As stated by the Ministry of External Affairs, in its Press Release of April 24, "no broad generalisation" can be drawn on the basis of information provided by a few of the injured relating to the conduct of an individual gatekeeper".

After visiting the scene of occurrence and interacting with some of the pilgrims in Camp 59, the Team is of the view that the alleged locking of the front gate will (sic) not impede the escape process. In view of this and the bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia, it is always desirable to avoid making such statement. Unfortunately, the statement of Consul-General has been used by some people to find fault with the Saudi officials.

Observations/Recommendations

The Team would like to recommend to the Government to convey to the Saudi authorities that preparations of food in camps by pilgrims in Mina should be banned. Instead, food packets ... should be made available to them either by the Moallims or the respective Haj Committees or the diplomatic missions. Under no circumstances, any pilgrim should be allowed to use stove, cooking gas or any other hazardous material.

The Team also urges the Government of India to appeal to Saudi authorities to implement their earlier decision to erect tents with fire-resistant materials. 

The Team places on record its deep sense of appreciation of the medical facilities made available to the injured Haj pilgrims from India by the Saudi authorities.

The Team recommends that the compensation announced by the Prime Minister as Rs. 1,00,000/- to the next-of-kin of the dead should also be made available to those permanently disabled. The same should also be given to the next-of-kin of the persons missing.

The Team is of the view that the injured. Who have returned to India or are undergoing treatment in private hospitals should be given free medical treatment by the Central and State Governments.

The Team recommends that the injured. Who are still in Saudi Arabia be given a part of compensation announced by the Prime Minister at the earliest.

The Team recommends creating a Relief Fund for Hajees by collecting a specific amount from pilgrims with an equal amount by the Government for such exigencies.

Relief measures by the voluntary association of the Indian community in Jeddah and Makkah should be encouraged for which the Indian Mission should constitute a consultative body.

The Team recommends urgent measures to restrict and regulate private operators, sponsoring the Haj pilgrims and to make it mandatory on the party of every Indian passport holder to register his or her name with the Indian Diplomatic Mission in Jeddah once they reach Saudi Arabia to perform the Haj other than through the Haj Committees.

The Team recommends that Government should make arrangements with the help of electronic media and other channels to educate the prospective Haj pilgrims about the details of topography of Makkah, Mina, Arafatand Muzdalifa andthe situation likely to arise during.

Haj period, at least two months before Haj though the Haj Committees as well as by other voluntary organisations.

The Team recommends to the Government to restructure the Mission in Jeddah with more efficient staffin order to have transparency and to meet the requirements in Jeddah, Makkah and Madina.

Haj: Maqbool Ahmed Siraj on Mina Tragedy

The Saudi Government's quota policy for Hajj is currently indispensable. But it seems the repeat performances do make it difficult to contain the size. Introduction of fingerprinting of pilgrims would help eliminate such performances.

Some restrictions on age or physical conditions of the pilgrim too may be advisable but not all that facile to implement or to even find approval. Hajj bodies all over the world must cooperate with Saudi authorities in downsizing pilgrims.

During the April 15 fire the camp number 59 was the scene of the worst disaster with a toll of almost 100 casualties. The unfortunate camp was ringed from hills on three sides while the fire entered the camp from the fourth side. Only those who could climb the hill could save their lives.

Fire-prone tents are an invitation to such tragedies. Insistence on tents is perhaps borne out to their spiritual significance reminding one to the temporary nature of the worldly life. But the suggestion to develop fire-prooftents remains far from materialization. It will be therefore advisable to think of replacing with minimum damage to the historic landscape of the pilgrim town.

Orientation of the Pilgrims

An aware and cooperative pilgrim could be the best guarantee in making the Hajj less uncomfortable and averting the avoidable catastrophes. Unfortunately, this aspect has received the least attention everywhere. The ignorant pilgrims who are suddenly launched into a pilgrim path studded with escalators, automatic dispensing machines, car phones, and easy-t-use facilities are often incapable of following any kind of written language leading to abuse of facilities and rendering the Hajj uncomfortable for fellow-pilgrims. Consequently lakhs of squatters block the easy passage to Jamarat (the stone symbolising the Satan), thousands of others choose tonsuring of heads within tents, thereby clogging the water closets and commodes, and perhaps none feels any qualms in flinging the plastic rubbish at will on the public pathways. More horrendously, hundreds of pilgrims from the subcontinent and Indonesia carry gas stoves to the tent town least aware of the hazards. Mina presented the scene of the serial blast soon after the fire engulfed the arena as stoves and gas cylinders exploded frequently. The pile was a tell-tale picture of the pilgrim’s liberty with the safety regulations n the tent town. No amount of policing would perhaps bar the pilgrim’s from being so careless. It is time the Central Hajj Committee in India and Hajj bodies elsewhere took up orientation programmes for pilgrims with lessons it topography of holy places, a little Arabic, road signs, travel procedures, health precautions, currency exchanges, etc.

Right Priorities

Plagiarism need to be trained more thoroughly with rites and rituals in correlation with the ground realities such as crowd, climatic conditions, topography. Often catastrophes happen when pilgrims insist on carrying out rites that may be merely afzal (preferable) but may not be obligatory, if it deprives others from even discharging a Farz (obligatory). Thus much of the jostling for Hajr-e-aswad or Jamarat could be avoided.

Haj: GOI Goodwill Delegation, 1997

(1996 in brackets)

Number of Members                                                 31(14)

Number of Accompanying Dependents                  29(17)

Number of Officers                                                   4(NA)

Expenditure                            1997 Estimated                                   1996 (Actual)(Saudi Riyals)                                                                                             

Accommodation                     1750,713                                             360,606                          

(Including Boarding)

Transport                                 93,900                                                 97,900

D.A                                         185,000                                               44,590

Telephone                                30,000                                                 N.A.

Misc.                                       N.A.                                                    2.249

                                                                                                            (S.R. 1=Rs.9.00)

Date of Arrival                                                                      Date of Departure

31 March                     1                                                          22.4.97            4

9 April                         1                                                          26.4.97            1

10 April                       17                                                        29.4.97            15

14 April                       12                                                        1.5.97              1

                                                                                                2.5.97              2

                                                                                                3.5.97              5

                                                                                                6.5.97              1

                                                                                                Not known      2

D.A. (excluding Lodging &Boarding) S.R. 270 per diemi.e. Rs. 2430 Average Stay18 days

(Min 9 Max 24).

Haj Goodwill Delegation, 1997

On Chauvinistic Archaeology

(Among) archaeological strata ... attempts to privilege one stratum over others are predicated on a belief both that one stratum is "superior" or unique, and that the past can be manipulated to affect the present by’ proving" this superiority. Thus, if one stratum of a city can be privileged, if one set of names derived from it can be given pride of place over all others below or above it, then a certain contemporary reality claiming roots in the past can be imposed on the present.                                    

Haj Committee: Deputation to Saudi Arabia for Haj 1997

Renting and Building Selection DelegationI-A: Haj Committee Bombay

Members 11, E.O.1 (S. Ahmad)

Salamatullah, B.M.Patel,R.B. Harris, S.M. Hadi, JavedKhan, P.M. Sayeed, Q. Islam, S. Lokhandwala,  Anees M.Ahmad, O.K. Azmi, Hafiz mohd Siddique

Period: July 1996-March 1997

Total Period- 256 days

Minimum 8 days (Md. Siddique)

Maximum 35 days (Salamatullah)

Average 20 days

I-B: State Haj Committees

Member 14

Period September 1996-March 1997

Total Period- 317 days

Minimum - 6 days ((A Raoof)

Maximum - 30 days (S. Fazlullah)

Average - 22.6 days

Expenditure - Air Ticket

DA-S.R. 270 per day

II- Haj Delegation

Members 7

Salamatullah,Md. Siddique,Javed Khan,B.M.Patel,A.M. Ahmed, S.Z. Qasim, Y. Abrahimi

E.O                  1 (S. Ahmed)

Staff                10

No. of Depudates 23(only members; staff not available

Minimum                     1

Maximum                    5

Average                       3

Date of Arrival

Date                            /Members, /E.O./Staff

9.4.97                          6                      7

11.4.97                                    1                      3

15.4.97                        1                      -

Period of stay

Members Total                        162 days

Minimum                                 11 days (B.M.Patel)

Maximum                                31 days (Md. Siddique)

Average                                   20.3 days

Staff

Each                                        32 days

Expenditure

Air Ticket

Lump sum granted SR 5600i.e.Rs 56,000 nearly each.