Hajj Season Starts with Nearly 2 Million Pilgrims

Riyadh: The Hajj season started on Sunday with the Day of Tarwiyah, the first ritual of the holy pilgrimage, in Mina, a neighborhood of the Islamic city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, with 1,966,461 pilgrims. The General Authority for Statistics announced the figure on Saudi Press Agency, with the total number of pilgrims to be announced on the evening of Arafat Day — the most important Hajj ritual — on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported. To ensure the safety of pilgrims, a comprehensive security and safety plan has been set up to transport people between ritual sites. (IANS)