MAKKAH: During the first ten days of Ramadan, crowds of worshippers and Umrah pilgrims flocked to the Grand Mosque from the Kingdom and abroad to perform Umrah and pray in a reassuring, tranquil spiritual atmosphere. The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, represented by the Tafweej and Crowds Management, is keen on receiving visitors with a distinguished cadre; 330 employees are working on organizing the entry of pilgrims through specific gates to ensure the flow of movement. Osama bin Mansour Al-Hujaili, undersecretary-general for Tafweej and Crowds Management, said that the agency had allocated 48 gates for the entry of pilgrims, including 17 at the third Saudi expansion, 23 at the King Fahd expansion, seven at Al-Masaa area and the gate of Ajyad Bridge. FAST FACT All efforts have been made to provide best services to visitors and Umrah pilgrims as part of a plan for the holy month, in accordance with the aspirations of the Saudi leadership. It also allocated 38 gates for the entrance of pilgrims to the mosque, including 13 gates at King Fahd expansion, six gates at the King Abdul Aziz area, and 19 gates at Al-Masaa and Ajyad, in addition to four gates for emergency services and ten for services. Al-Hujaili said that 35 praying areas for men and 30 for women have been prepared at the second Saudi expansion, as well as several routes for guiding the mosque’s visitors to ensure a smooth movement of crowds. He said that efforts had been made to provide all services for visitors and Umrah pilgrims as part of a plan for the holy month, offering the best services for visitors in accordance with the aspirations of the Saudi leadership. The “Tafweej” program was launched, dedicated to crowd management through an electronic system for preparing and monitoring the grouping dispatch plan, in addition to increasing the absorptive capacity, building camps equipped with services, and the “electronic system for the holy sites” initiative.