Jeddah: Over 1.36 lakh Indian pilgrims are expected to perform Haj this year and all arrangements have been put in place to ensure a hassle-free pilgrimage, an Indian diplomat here said on Tuesday. South Asian countries will send the biggest contingent of 4,10,000, out of the nearly 1.3 million foreign pilgrims expected to perform Haj in Saudi Arabia this year. "From India we will have 1,36,020 pilgrims and all arrangements have been put in place to offer a comfortable and hassle-free Haj," Consul (Press, Information & Culture) at the Consulate General of India, Irshad Ahmad said.
Ahmad further said that the first batch of pilgrims are expected to reach Madinah from Calcutta by tomorrow morning, whereas the first flight to Jeddah will arrive on September 7 from Aurangabad in Maharashtra. The nearly 1.36 lakh Indian Haj pilgrims will also benefit from several high-tech apps this year, Ahmad said, adding every available technology and gadget will be used to keep the pilgrims in their loop of communication. The Indian Haj mission has launched an Internet-based, user-friendly smartphone application called "Indian Haji Accommodation Locator" that will help the pilgrims in finding their accommodations. "Once downloaded, all you have to do is click on the app’s icon and enter any pilgrim’s cover number or passport number and you will get comprehensive details about their accommodation, plus an easy-to-follow satellite or a regular road map that will lead you to their location," Indian Consul General in Jeddah BS Mubarak had said earlier.
Every Indian pilgrim will also be provided with a Saudi cellphone SIM card which they can activate upon arrival. "We send short text messages to these numbers to keep our pilgrims informed about important and immediate developments," Mubarak had said. Over one lakh Indian Hajj pilgrims will also be provided with 5-litre cans of sacred Zamzam water on their return to India under a new agreement between Hajj Committee of India and Saudi Arabian Airlines. Of the 136,020 Indian pilgrims arriving this year, 100,020 would be coming through the Hajj Committee of India. Saudi Arabian Airlines will carry 49,230 while Air India will transport 50,790 from 21 embarkation points. The remaining 36,000 pilgrims will come through private tour operators.
