JEDDAH: An updated version of the Manasikana application has been launched, offering improved services on smart devices to help pilgrims and visitors during their journeys of faith to the holy sites.
The application has support for eight languages, including Arabic, English, French, Urdu, Turkish, Malay and Bengali. The features it provides include maps of Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and the holy sites, which highlight a wide range of places of particular interest to pilgrims. After downloading the offline maps application, users can easily access information about the areas, including the boundaries of the Haram and Holy places, without needing an Internet connection.
Launching the updated app, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Mohammed Saleh bin Taher Benten stressed that the new version will help pilgrims perform the rituals more easily by providing information such as gathering times, details of the stoning of the jamarat, and departure times for buses. It will also provide prayer times, and advice on how to overcome many of the obstacles that can be encountered during the performance of the duty. In addition, users can use it to communicate directly with the ministry.
He also praised the contribution of the application in highlighting the great efforts being made by the government of King Salman and the crown prince to serve pilgrims.
Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Abdul Fattah Bin Sulaiman Mushat said that the latest version of Manasikana is a leap forward in the technical services provided by the ministry to pilgrims. He said the aim was to embrace modern technologies to serve visitors of all nationalities, in a variety of languages, in accordance with government directives and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020.
Updated version of Manasikana app for Hajj pilgrims launched
Updated version of Manasikana app for Hajj pilgrims launched
Rainfed agriculture booms 1,100% under Saudi rural development initiative
- It is one of eight agricultural segments receiving program support
RIYADH: The Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program, known as Saudi Reef, has announced exceptional growth in its rainfed crops sector, one of eight agricultural segments receiving program support, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The sector has registered extraordinary expansion, surpassing 1,100 percent, with participant numbers climbing to over 13,300 beneficiaries nationwide.
Program spokesman Majed Al-Buraikan identified rainfed agriculture as a cornerstone of Saudi Reef’s achievements, highlighting its role in boosting production efficiency, bolstering food security and self-reliance, enabling sustainable farming in water-scarce regions, and raising income levels and quality of life for smallholder farmers — all consistent with Vision 2030 priorities.
Al-Buraikan outlined the program’s principal aims, including broadening the agricultural production foundation, securing food independence across multiple crop categories, enhancing smallholder farmer prosperity and employment prospects to foster social cohesion, and safeguarding environmental and natural resources throughout rural Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Reef extends support and technical assistance across eight distinct sectors: honey production, fruit cultivation, coffee production, rose farming, rainfed crops, livestock raising, artisanal fishing, and value-added agricultural products.
