Saudi Arabia said that it will introduce electronic identification bracelets for all pilgrims to Mecca, starting this year.
A report on Thursday in Riyadh said that it was part of a safety drive for pilgrims to avoid disaster.
As many as 2,070 people died in a stampede when thousands of pilgrims converged on a walkway intersection near the Muslim holy city of Mecca last September, the highest loss of life at the annual pilgrimage since 1990.
An official report said that the bracelets, which will contain personal and medical information, will help authorities provide care and identify people.
It explained that the devices will also instruct worshippers on timings of prayers and a multi-lingual help desk to guide especially non-Arabic speaking pilgrims around the various rituals of the annual Islamic event.
Nearly a thousand new surveillance cameras have been installed at Mecca’s Grand Mosque and linked to control rooms staffed by Special Forces monitoring pilgrim movements for the event scheduled for August.
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