Provision of zamzam water at Saudi's Grand Mosque resumes

KUALA LUMPUR: The General Presidency of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque has on Monday resumed the operationalisation of 155 marble tanks of zamzam water as well as placing back the 20,000 water containers throughout the Grand Mosque.

This was announced by the deputy president of services and technical affairs at the Grand Mosque Mohammed bin Musleh Al-Jabiri via Twitter.

The presidency stated that usually, more than 20,000 zamzam water containers are provided at the Grand Mosque to cover the average consumption of 1,633,030 cubic metres of water per day.

In the middle of last month, the redeployment of 600 barrels with a total capacity of 30 thousand tonnes of zamzam water throughout the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah, has already begun.

The distribution of zamzam water was previously halted due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 infection among pilgrims at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque and replaced with the use of smart robots to provide zamzam water without physical contact.

However, the increasing rate of vaccine recipients among locals and foreigners in Saudi Arabia as well as the commitment shown by visitors to the Grand Mosque in adhering to standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic has allowed for the provision of zamzam water to be resumed.

Meanwhile, Saudi's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced that the issuance of umrah visas and prayer permits at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque will be limited to individuals who have been fully vaccinated, effective Oct 10.

"Those who have made a reservation and have a permit to perform umrah or visit two holy mosques but have not been fully vaccinated should get a second dose injection within 48 hours before the date set in the permit to avoid cancellation", the ministry explained.

-- BERNAMA