Declaring on Sunday the success of the security and service plans for the Arbaeen pilgrimage, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also revealed at the same time that the Iraqi government will start executing almost 40 varied service projects at a financial cost almost 3 trillion dinars for the millions of pilgrims in the nation.
Al-Sudani commended the efforts of the Supreme Security Committee headed by the Minister of Interior during the press conference he conducted in Karbala Governorate on all officers and members ensuring the seamless flow of the visit, which covered vast areas and thousands of kilometres of roads leading to Karbala.
In addition to local governments, governors and governorate councils, he also commended the efforts of local service and administrative institutions in the governorates as well as the forms of the several ministries since more than 53 ministries and agencies engaged.
The Prime Minister said during the conference 37 diverse service projects that will be started by the Supreme Committee for Millions of Visits, and more than (3.5) trillion dinars have been allocated for them, distributed among the budgets of ministries and governorates, and include the construction and rehabilitation of ring roads, intersections, bridges, pedestrian bridges and squares, the building of water complexes and cities for visitors, and service complexes, and they will be started in f
Since the end of the Arbaeen pilgrimage last year, work has also started on restoring the border crossings in Zurbatiyah, Al-Mundhiriyah, and Al-Shaib, creating significant exchange yards to enable visitor transportation, and projects aimed at maintaining the roads linking Karbala to other governorates. While the Karbala International Airport project reaches advanced stages and will open next year, the Karbala-Najaf Metro project has also progressed under government direction.
Al-Sudani underlined that the government initiated the Supreme Committee for Million-Pilgrim Visits, to be the permanent organiser and supervisor of this great endeavour, stressing that this event is no more only ideological but rather a national epic where our people from all religions and sects participated in more than 50 processions delivering services to the visitors.
Earlier today, the Al-Abbas’s Holy Shrine declared that more than 21 million people visited the city of Karbala to complete the Arbaeen pilgrimage of Imam Hussein.
According to the shrine’s announcement, Arbaeen attendance this year came at 21 million, 480 thousand, and 525 visitors.
More than three million people from Iran had earlier said crossed the border with Iraq in order to mark the Arbaeen pilgrimage to Karbala.
Forty days following Ashura, the commemoration of the murder of Imam Hussein, his family and friends in the Karbala event under the forces of the Umayyad Caliph Yazid bin Muawyah in the year 61 AH, equivalent to 680 AD. Shiite Muslims mark the Arbaeen pilgrimage.
