Jeddah, Sep 8: The first group of 235 Indian pilgrims arrived on an Air India flight in Madinah on Saturday from Goa.
According to Irshad Ahmad, consul for press and information at the Indian Consulate in Jeddah, Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao and Consul General Faiz Ahmad Kidwai welcomed the pilgrims.
The oldest pilgrim is an 82-year-old woman named Aisamma, and the youngest a 24-year-old man named Fawaz. A medical team, with male and female doctors and nurses, was present at the airport. All the pilgrims were in good health and looking forward to performing their Haj rites.
Ahmad said there are 10 housing groups for Indian pilgrims in Madinah. The first batch of pilgrims will stay with Ilyas Group in a building called Safia Ilyas in the Markazia area.
After spending eight days there, they will proceed to Makkah by road.
Welcoming the pilgrims, Rao wished them good health and hoped they would perform their pilgrimage with ease.
Ahmad said an online complaint management system has been provided in both Madinah and Makkah to address any complaints from pilgrims.
Besides the main Indian Haj offices in Makkah and Madinah, there are five branch offices in Madinah, five branch dispensaries and a 10-bed dispensary. There are 13 branch offices in Makkah, 13 branch dispensaries, one 50-bed hospital and one 30-bed hospital in Azizia.
The pilgrims can obtain Adahi coupons (for sacrificial animals) from branch offices in Madinah and Makkah.
They also have the facility to check-in baggage remotely in Makkah and Madinah. All pilgrims will be given cans of Zamzam when they leave for home.
There will be 193 flights to Madinah bringing in 60,800 pilgrims. Air India will fly 88 flights to Madinah and Saudia 105.
Comments
Add new comment