Hajj 2024 Was The Deadliest In The History

Saudi Arabia did not improve its infrastructure compared to its increasing quota for the Hajj pilgrims worldwide from time to time to earn as much revenue as possible in the apprehension of the drying oil wells by the next twenty years. The death toll during the Hajj 2024 is perhaps much more than projected by Saudi government officials. Most of the deaths were mainly due to scorching weather, dehydration, poor arrangements in Mina and Arafat, lack of coordination and high mismanagement during the five days of Hajj. For about fifteen years, Saudi Arabia has transformed the Hajj and Umrah into more of a religious tourism and status symbol venture than a religious duty and ritual. The pilgrims are discouraged by the religious fanatics from asking questions and speaking negatively about the lack of facilities in the twin cities, Arafat, Mina, Muzdalifa and Jamarat, despite the Saudi government receiving hefty money for visas, hotels and transport services through which Saudi Arabia annually earns billions from religious tourism. The annual Hajj congregation, which draws 20 to 25 million people from around the world, is a significant source of revenue for the country, in addition to the Umrah pilgrimage continuing throughout the year, with more than half a million people visiting the twin holy cities Makkah and Madinah daily. Unfortunately, Saudi Arabia, the respective countries of the pilgrims, and most of their tour operators provide substandard facilities, leaving the pilgrims without proper care or guidance. The volunteers from countries like India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh who don't understand Arabic are of the slightest help to the pilgrims. In crisis, they vanish, not to be seen again, leaving the pilgrims in chaotic situations with no one to help them. Moreover, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are famous for the labour supply and menial jobs in Middle Eastern countries; the Arab natives also look upon pilgrims from those countries with disrespect.
In those five days of actual challenging Hajj rituals, which are complex and where a pilgrim has to walk on foot with a backpack of his essentials about 15 to 20 Kilometres in a slip-on slipper, Saudi Arabia's government, despite knowing the facts that the Arafat Mountains' grounds cannot accommodate approximately 20 million people on Hajj day, does not make any shaded arrangement with sufficient numbers of toilets and baths for the pilgrims for a short rest during their walks. Pilgrims endure the scorching heat, the open sky, makeshift tents without sanitation, and the lack of hygienic toilets on the way to Arafat and other nearby places for worship. Above all drastic lack of sufficient air conditioning machines in the large tents with hundreds of people with a space of 6x3 feet for each creates a suffocating atmosphere. People who have been there know that Arafat, Mina, Jamarat, and Muzdalifah lack the basic needs of life with no hotel, restaurant or, shaded trees or shelters. The large number of deaths could have been minimised by the prompt arrival and intervention of the medical team, quick transportation to health camps by ambulances, and the help of the volunteers who were not there. The loss of the valuable lives of the pilgrims calls for urgent attention and improved management to ensure the well-being and comfort of the pilgrims instead of indulging in issuing misleading statements and not accepting the failure. Egypt has initiated action against the tour operators. Still, considering the crowd from the subcontinent, the respective governments should take the matter with the Saudi Arabian government to amicably find a resolution to minimise the dreadful and horrible experience of the pilgrims.