Auwalu Umar
12 November 2009
Mecca — Nigerian pilgrims are now in a fix over high cost of food in the holy land as most restaurants recommended for pilgrims have the prices of their menu increased by more than 50 percent, investigations by Daily Trust have shown.
Similarly, the pilgrims are also grappling with rising transport fare, especially from their residential areas to the two grand mosques in Mecca and Medina, as they are expected to spend five Saudi Riyals to-and-from. Most of the pilgrims' houses are almost two to three kilometers away from the holy mosques.
The high cost of food and rising transport fare, it was learnt, might not be unconnected with the global economic meltdown, expansion of the praying ground of the holy Ka'aba in Mecca and the recent pay rise for Saudi workers. It was observed that there are fewer restaurants in the two holy cities than what it used to be in the past and most of the restaurants are run by Asians. According to Mohammed Saif, a Pakistani who ran a food restaurant last year, he stopped the business because he ran at a loss.
Findings have it that a plate of rice and half chicken which is the common meal for almost all pilgrims from Nigeria is now between 12 and 15 Saudi Riyals as against 6 or 7 Riyals in the last two years. To have full three square meals as recommended by pilgrims officials one has to spend at least 36 Riyals everyday.
Most pilgrims cannot afford eating at the standard restaurants as most of them live on low Basic Travelling Allowance (BTA) and resort to local meals prepared and sold in the open by Nigerian nationals resident in Saudi Arabia.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and state pilgrims' welfare agencies have repeatedly warned against eating rotten fruits and cheap food prepared in unhygienic environment. It was observed that the environment under which the local foods are being prepared is questionable. Investigations revealed that most of the pilgrims to this year's hajj are on a minimum BTA of 2,550 Riyals and in some cases less than that. In the last two years the minimum BTA given to pilgrims was 2,800 Riyals and no reason was given for the 250 Riyal slash from this year's BTA.
Food vendors, it was also learnt, are having a field day in all houses of Nigerian pilgrims in Udey, Misfala and Shara Mansur areas of Mecca. For example, the No. 1 Kano House in Shara Mansur area which houses more than 1000 pilgrims from Kano is a big market for food vendors who run the business almost on 24 hours every day.
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