NEW DELHI, July 24:
Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today flagged off the first batch of 300 Haj pilgrims from New Delhi Airport. Extending his wishes to Haj pilgrims, Mr Naqvi said that the Ministry of Minority Affairs, in cooperation with Haj Committee and other concerned agencies, had completed preparations for Haj 2017 well before in time to ensure smooth Haj pilgrimage.
The Minister said the new Haj Policy 2018, aimed at making the pilgrimage process transparent and smooth, will be finalised soon. He said a high-level committee constituted in this regard will soon submit its report.
Mr Naqvi said that reviving the option of sending Haj pilgrims through sea route also is part of the new policy. He said, “sending pilgrims through ships will help cut down travel expenses by nearly half as compared to airfares.
It will be a revolutionary, pro-poor, pilgrim-friendly decision. The practice of ferrying Haj pilgrims between Mumbai and Jeddah by waterways was stopped from 1995.”
Mr Naqvi said, “Another advantage with ships available these days is they are modern and well-equipped to ferry 4,000 to 5,000 persons at a time. They can cover the 2,300-odd nautical miles one-side distance between Mumbai and Jeddah within just two-three days.
Earlier, the old ships used to take 12 to 15 days to cover this distance.” Besides Delhi, Haj pilgrims are going to Saudi Arab today from embarkation points in Goa, Guwahati, Lucknow, Mangalore, Varanasi, Srinagar and Kolkata today.
Haj Flights will also go from Gaya, Ranchi, Kolkata, Bhopal and Bangalore, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Chennai, Cochin & Jaipur and Indore and Hyderabad. (UNI)
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