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Inaugural Haj flight takes off from Karipur

Staff Reporter

Government may give preference to first-timers

TEARS OF DEPARTURE: A woman plants a kiss on her daughter before leaving for the Haj pilgrimage from Karipur on Saturday.

MALAPPURAM: The inaugural Haj flight from the State under the aegis of the Government took off from the Calicut International Airport at Karipur at 1.15 p.m. on Saturday with 461 pilgrims on board.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed flagged off the Boeing 747.

The second flight will leave Karipur for Medina at 7.40 a.m. on Sunday. Air-India will operate 19 flights to carry 8,000-odd Haj pilgrims from Kerala, Lakshadweep and Mahe. It is operating a Jumbo 747 leased from Air Atlanta.

As many as 256 of the pilgrims on board the inaugural flight were women. Sayed Alavi from Kannamangalam, a pilgrim scheduled to go on the inaugural flight, was shifted to a hospital at Kozhikode after he fell ill at the Haj camp.

Mr. Ahamed inaugurated the Haj camp in the morning. Indian Union Muslim League State president Syed Mohammedali Shihab Thangal led the inaugural prayer. Minister for Local Administration Paloli Mohammed Kutty presided. Haj Committee chairman A.K. Abdul Hameed welcomed the pilgrims.

All-India Jamiyyathul Ulama general secretary Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar offered a sermon to the maiden batch of Hajis. He also led the prayer of departure.

MPs T.K. Hamza and P.V. Abdul Wahab; MLAs Manjalamkuzhi Ali, P.T.A. Rahim, P.M.A. Salam and K. Mohammedunni Haji; District Collector K.S. Premachandra Kurup; Central Haj Committee vice-chairman Alikutty Musliar; Haj Committee member Kadakkal Abdul Azeez Moulavi; and Air-India manager Sunil Deshmukh attended the inaugural function.

Mr. Ahamed praised the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government for increasing Kerala's Haj quota by 32,000 over the past couple of years. He said the allegations that private Haj groups were given more number of seats were baseless.

Mr. Mohammed Kutty said the State's Haj quota should not be on the basis of population. It should be made on the basis of the number of Haj applicants.

He said the Government would consider revising the Haj scheme for the coming years. It would consider giving preference to first-timers.

Leaders of Muslim organisations, including T. Arifali of Jama'at-e-Islami and T.P. Abdullakoya Madani of the Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen, took part in the function.

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