Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Shocking

The death of 345 Haj pilgrims in a stampede in Mina is shocking. The fact that such stampedes have occurred in 1990 and 2004 and have been primarily taking place during the stoning ritual shows the area in and around the place needs to be made more secure for pilgrims. It is time the Saudi Arabian Government became more serious about arrangements in dealing with a huge congregation around this time of the year.

S. Anand Balaji,
Chennai

* * *

Maybe the Government should consider hiring volunteers and security forces from countries that are experienced in handling crowds.

David Peniel,
Tiruchi, T.N.

* * *

The authorities should rebuild the bridge that gets extremely overloaded, and regulate the crowds by introducing a queue system. Also, a system should be put in place whereby pilgrims do not throng the venue at the same time.

K. Chidanand Kumar,
Bangalore

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