M G Road Mangalore Shining - Mangalore Dasara 2011

First Hajj flight from Bangalore today

Bangalore - The first batch of 300 Hajis from the state this year will start its journey on Sunday, October 24. The Hajj pilgrims will board the flight in Bangalore in the night for the annual pilgrimage to Makkah. The State Hajj Committee made two embarkation points in the state.

About 7,500 pilgrims from the state will be performing Hajj this year. Around 6,000 pilgrims will board the flights from Bangalore and the boarding point has been arranged at Quddus Sahab Eidgah Ground. Another 900 pilgrims will board the flight from Mangalore. Chairman of the Karnataka State Hajj Committee S Mohammed Ghouse Basha Ashrafi said a similar number will board the flight from Hyderabad.

The flights will start from 24th of this month at Bangalore. There would be special flights for the pilgrims till November 7. These flights would follow a schedule prepared by the Central Hajj Committee. The Saudi National Air Services will operate these flights, said the chairman.

At Mangalore the flight services will start on October 27 and the last flight would be on 30th.

The committee has given authorised letters to 930 of 1,000 Hajis who do not have passports. There were some problems with around 70 of them and it was becoming difficult to clear them, said Ashrafi.

The Hajj camp at the Eidgah Ground has started and around 270 pilgrims took vaccination on Tuesday, said Ashrafi. The camp was formally inaugurated on October 23.