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Saudi Arabia said Sunday that more than 1,300 faithful died during the hajj pilgrimage which took place during intense heat and that most of them who died did not have official permits.

"Regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83 percent being unauthorised to perform hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort," the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

An AFP tally last week, based on official statements and reports from diplomats involved in their countries' responses, put the count at more than 1,100.

The dead came from more than 10 countries stretching from the United States to Indonesia, and some governments are continuing to update their totals.

Arab diplomats told AFP last week that Egyptians accounted for 658 deaths -- 630 of them unregistered pilgrims. 

The diplomats said the cause of death in most cases was heat-related. 

Temperatures in Mecca this year climbed as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Saudi Arabia's national meteorological centre. 

Riyadh had not publicly commented on the deaths or provided its own count until Sunday. 

On Friday, however, a senior Saudi official gave AFP a partial count of 577 deaths for the two busiest days of hajj: June 15, when pilgrims gathered for hours of prayers in the blazing sun on Mount Arafat, and June 16, when they participated in the "stoning of the devil" ritual in Mina.

The official also defended Riyadh's response, saying: "The state did not fail, but there was a misjudgement on the part of people who did not appreciate the risks."

'Heat stress'

The Saudi health minister, Fahd Al-Jalajel, on Sunday described management of the hajj this year as "successful", SPA reported. 

He said the health system "provided more than 465,000 specialised treatment services, including 141,000 services to those who didn't obtain official authorisation to perform hajj," according to SPA, which summarised an interview he gave to the state-affiliated Al-Ekhbariya channel.

Jalajel did not specify how many deaths Saudi officials attributed to heat.

"The health system addressed numerous cases of heat stress this year, with some individuals still under care," SPA reported. 

"Among the deceased were several elderly and chronically ill individuals."

The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that all Muslims with the means must complete at least once in their lives.

Saudi officials have said 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, a similar number to last year, and that 1.6 million came from abroad.

For the past several years the mainly outdoor rituals have fallen during the sweltering Saudi summer.

The timing of the hajj moves forward about 11 days each year in the Gregorian calendar, meaning that next year it will take place earlier in June, potentially in cooler conditions.

A 2019 study by the journal Geophysical Research Letters said because of climate change, heat stress for hajj pilgrims will exceed the "extreme danger threshold" from 2047 to 2052 and 2079 to 2086, "with increasing frequency and intensity as the century progresses".

Off-the-books hajj

Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota system and distributed to individuals by lottery.

Even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs spur many to attempt the hajj without a permit, though they risk arrest and deportation if caught.

Saudi authorities said before the hajj that they had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca.

But the Saudi official who spoke to AFP on Friday said around 400,000 unregistered pilgrims took part, and that "almost all of them (were) from one nationality", an apparent reference to Egypt. 

On Saturday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered 16 tourism companies stripped of their licences and referred their managers to the public prosecutor over illegal pilgrimages to Mecca, Egypt's cabinet said.

It said the rise in the number of deaths of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims stemmed from some companies which "organised the hajj programmes using a personal visit visa, which prevents its holders from entering Mecca" via official channels.

Unregistered pilgrims in many cases did not have access to amenities meant to make the pilgrimage more bearable, including air-conditioned tents.

Unregistered Egyptian pilgrims told AFP last week that in some cases they struggled to access hospitals or hail ambulances for loved ones, some of whom ended up dying.

Bengaluru: The ruling Congress plunged into bedlam after one lawmaker publicly called for Siddaramaiah to be replaced by DK Shivakumar as Karnataka chief minister, a topic that awaited unravelling after the Lok Sabha polls.

This was countered by a senior minister who made a case for a new Karnataka Congress president, a post currently held by Shivakumar.

The hurly-burly began with Channagiri Congress MLA Basavaraju Shivaganga asking for Shivakumar, the deputy CM, to get a promotion.

“Siddaramaiah was CM for five years. And, he’s been the CM for the last 1.5 years. All MLAs have cooperated. Let D K Shivakumar become the CM now,” Shivaganga said.

This statement added to the Congress’ woes as the party is already facing demands for the appointment of more deputy chief ministers.

“Congress won nine Lok Sabha seats, up from just one five years ago. This was because of Shivakumar’s organisation skills. If the party wants to benefit from that going forward, Shivakumar should become CM,” Shivaganga argued.

Shivaganga even pointed out that as per convention, Shivakumar should have become the CM after Congress won the Assembly polls last year. “Conventionally, the Karnataka Congress president becomes the CM,” he said.

Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna, who has been pushing for the appointment of additional deputy CMs from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat, SC/ST and minority communities, said the Congress high command should decide on making Shivakumar the CM.

However, Rajanna raised the ‘one man, one post’ policy to hint that Shivakumar, being deputy CM, should give up the KPCC president’s post. “I’d like to remind (the party) that Shivakumar was to continue as KPCC president till the Parliament elections,” he said.

Talk in Congress circles is that some leaders are trying to convince the party to make Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre, a Lingayat, the next Karnataka Congress president.

The likes of Rajanna and Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi are batting for more deputy CMs, which Shivakumar is not in favour of. In fact, the demand for more deputies, first raised last year, is seen as a plan to counterbalance Shivakumar.

Reacting to the demand for more deputies, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the Congress high command’s decision will be final on this.

P.A. College of Engineering (PACE) football team has clinched the VTU State Level Football Championship- 2024-25, held on 13th & 14th June 2024, by defeating NMIT Bangalore in the final match at PES, Mandya. 

This achievement showcases the team's dedication, hard work, and passion for the sport. 

This victory comes on the heels of PACE's triumph in the VTU Mangalore Division Inter-Collegiate Football Tournament, where they emerged champions for the third consecutive year, demonstrating their continued excellence in collegiate football.