Karnataka - Bangalore   

Pilgrims returning home after Haj

Bangalore: Pilgrims from Karnataka, who had left for Haj in the Islamic month of Dhul Qaid (in November), have started returning home in small batches of about 500 people each. The last batch will land in Bangalore on January 23.

While the number of Indian pilgrims who can perform Haj through the Haj Committee of India is 1,49,000, the quota fixed for Karnataka is 5,028. But the number of people who were sent from Karnataka this year exceeded the quota and stood at 6,653 adults and 28 infants. This included the MP quota and Additional Quota. Besides, there were many who had gone with the help of private travel agents.

While there have been reports of stampedes and other disasters during Haj in the previous years, this year has been relatively incident-free, said M. Tanveer Ahmed of the Karnataka State Haj Committee (KSHC).

A safer journey than in the past, Mr. Ahmed said, was made possible because of the precautions taken by the KSHC to ensure a smooth Haj.

“The KSHC sends one representative for every 300 pilgrims to ensure their convenience. Previously, the pilgrims while returning had difficulty in bringing holy water (Zam Zam). But now the Saudi Arabian Airlines provides every pilgrim 10 litres of water after their landing in India,” said Mr. Ahmed.

“The religious authorities issued several decrees three years ago to make the process convenient, such as not allowing baggage to be carried and not allowing pilgrims to return from the same path.

The Government of Saudi Arabia has converted the symbolic Satan from a pillar to a long wall for stoning. Thus, instead of three pillars, three long walls were built, which ensures that pilgrims do not crowd around one place,” said a pilgrim who had visited Makah last year.

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