Three weeks before direct Haj flights will commence from Srinagar to Madina in Saudi Arabia, Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed was unanimously elected as the Chairperson of Jammu and Kashmir State Haj Committee.
The Haj Committee of the Muslim majority state was reconstituted in June prior to the election of the Chairperson. Mufti nominated his senior cabinet colleague and Horticulture Minister Abdur rahman Veeri as Vice Chairperson of the Committee.
This year 6,684 pilgrims are expected to embark on the annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
“The Haj Committee should monitor facilitation of pilgrims during security and luggage checking before their departure so that they do not face any difficulty after they alight at Medina”, Mufti told the members and office bearers of Haj Committee at a special meeting here.
Asking the State Haj Committee to ensure that Khudam-ul-Hujaj (helpers for the Haj pilgrims) to perform their duties with utmost care, Mufti Sayeed said the pilgrims repose great faith in the arrangements made by the State Government. “All required measures should be in place for providing best possible services to the pilgrims in the Holy land,” he stressed.
The Chief Minister was informed that direct Haj flights to Medina will commence from August 17 for which all necessary arrangements have been made by the State Haj Committee. While two daily Indian Airlines flights will operate between Srinagar and Medina from 17 to 21 August, single flights will operate on a daily basis from August 22 till August 31. Each flight will carry 340 pilgrims.
In order to facilitate the pilgrims, the State Haj Committee has introduced new features which include baggage standardization to avoid delays at the airports.