Srinagar, July 18: The first batch of 630 Hajj Pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir returned from holy Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and they were received by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri at Srinagar International Airport, officials said.
The Div Com was accompanied by DIG Central Kashmir, Sujit Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Budgam, Akshay Labroo, SSP Budgam Al- Tahir Gillani, ADDC, Dr Akramullah Tak, Executive Officer J&K Hajj Committee, Dr Shujaat Ahmad Qureshi, Hajj Authorities and others.
On their arrival, Div Com welcomed and greeted pilgrims performing Hajj and for their successful culmination of the holy journey. During interaction with Pilgrims, the Div Com enquired about arrangements made for their smooth and peaceful pilgrimage.
Director of Srinagar International Airport Javed Anjum told Rising Kashmir that two Hajj flights arrived on Tuesday and special Hajj flights from Saudi Arabia will continue till August 2.
“We had made elaborate arrangements at the Airport regarding various issues relating to the arrival of Hajj pilgrims,” he said.
Executive Officer, J&K Haj Committee, Shujaat Ahmed Qureshi saying that the authorities have already made arrangements regarding various issues relating to the arrival of Hajj flights.
Many pilgrims were not happy with the arrangements made by the government in Saudi Arabia and stated that they had to travel miles to attend the prayers at the holy Mosque.
Assadullah Khan, a local from Srinagar told Rising Kashmir that they faced several issues during the Hajj pilgrimage. Our hotel was 5-8 kilometres away from the holy Mosque and each day we had to travel to attend the prayers, he said.
“We appeal to the Central Government to make elaborate arrangements in Saudi Arabia like other countries. We paid extra money this year to perform Hajj and were not satisfied with the arrangements there,” Khan alleged.
Another pilgrim Ghulam Nabi Mir from Shopian says there were no adequate arrangements for the pilgrims. “Particularly in Madina the arrangements were not satisfactory. We appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Minister for External Affairs to look into the issue,” he said.
Pertinent to mention, this year around 12,067 pilgrims including 6,698 men and 5,369 women had left for the holy pilgrimage. Additionally, 111 women without Mahram also performed the Hajj this year.
