Re: Stoning the pillars/walls at Hajj.
while the govt can do things to make things safer, responsibility also falls on the people. I chuckled at ashtray and aejaz's comments because unless you have been there you would not understand how some of the nigerian and sudanese hajis push and shove.
4 factors
1) improve flow..more levels maybe..better flow as people can enter throw pebbles (its actually pebbles, dunno why ppl write stones) and leave so crowds arriving and departing would never have to intermingle
2) stretch the duration..from when the ritual can start and when it can end
3) limit number of people...in our family usually only my dad went, same with other families. decreases the number of people out there, 2 million haajis dont all have to go.
4) better crowd control and better crowd training
I have fallen twice..one when i was too young to remember and my mother covered me to protect me while people walked over her and finally my dad had to pull both of us up.
once when a group of sudanese ppl just did not follow directions of security to not enter as the palce was packed and even we were leavign since there was no rooml but the entire group literally charged in..I fell, my dad fell, my brothers fell..luckily we were at the edge and did not get trampled by that group.
I am not saying that the logistics and all do not need to be improved, they have been and they need to keep improving them since it is clear that more is needed, but really hajis need to be more disciplined and do things properly, safely and in a way to not endanger themselves or others.