BAHAWALPUR, Jan 13: Whatever towering claims the government functionaries may make about the arrangements, anyone planning a pilgrimage to Makkah next year must be prepared to face an ordeal on every front from boarding, lodging to transportation.

As in the past, thousands of pilgrims protested against the poor arrangements made by the government in Makkah and Madina during the haj rituals this year. (This correspondent is himself a witness to the pilgrims’ sufferings)

The pilgrims, who were provided inadequate foreign exchange ranging from only 873 riyals to 2,000 riyals, had to face a great deal of inconvenience because the buildings hired for residential purposes were at far-off places from the holy Kaaba in Makkah. Reaching Kaaba from their residences was not only time consuming but also a heavy burden on pockets.

The buildings marked down for Pakistani pilgrims neither existed in green or white zones of Makkah. It was strange enough that pilgrims housed in the same building were given variable amount of foreign exchange.

This hampered their religious activities during their stay in Makkah, belying the claims of the government functionaries that pilgrims would be provided with residential places within walking distance from the Kaaba.

Pakistan’s Haj Mission director-general in Makkah Shahid Khan owned that arrangements for the stay of pilgrims could not be made close to the holy place as was promised.

Besides, rooms in Madina were crammed with the people – at least five to seven persons were forced to live in a room. Only cots with beddings were provided to pilgrims while the furniture of any kind was a forbidden object in rooms.

During a month’s stay at Makkah, no members of the Pakistan Haj Mission, khuddamul hujaj or muaalim, had ever paid a visit to pilgrims to inquire about their welfare or needs.

The role of a muaalim was conspicuous in the sense that 294 riyals were deducted as a muaalim fee from the foreign exchange quota of each pilgrim. However, the services of muaalim were never available to pilgrims for their guidance at Makkah, Mina or Arafat. They had to perform haj rituals on their own at all these places.

Similarly, the working of the Pakistan Haj Medical Mission was also far from satisfactory as only one doctor was on duty to attend to male and female pilgrims. The mission doctor would always provide a substitute medicine of lower standard. Even panadol (extra) pills were not available in the Pakistani dispensary.

The transport arrangements made by the muaalim men at Makkah, Mina and Arafat were also not up to the scratch. Pilgrims had to face a lot of problems as no one from the Pakistani contingent or khuddamul hujaj came to their help. The khuddamul hujaj were drawn mainly from the army and some of them were taken from civil departments.

On the contrary, the Indian and Bangladeshi pilgrims were properly looked after by officials of their governments. The Indian pilgrims paid only Rs94,000 each while the Pakistani government charged Rs200,000 from each pilgrim.

The Indian pilgrims were housed in new buildings near the Kaaba. They were paid Rs40,000 foreign exchange plus meals at Mina and Arafat.