'Haj-2000, a success'

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, APRIL 25. India had the privilege of sending the second largest number of pilgrims to Mecca for Haj after Indonesia in the new millennium. Also, the first flight carrying Hajis that landed at Jeddah airport was an Air-India aeroplane.

Describing Haj-2000 as a grand success, Mr. Tanveer Ahmed, Chairman of the Central Haj Committee, said today that the whole exercise had ended satisfactorily and there was no accident or casualty. However, some delay in the return of flights was caused by lack of space at the airport.

Mr. Ahmed's reaction came soon after the Supreme Court expressed dissatisfaction over the way the pilgrimage had been conducted, causing inconvenience to the pilgrims. The Court had made the observations on a Public Interest Litigation petition filed by a pilgrim.

Last year, the quota of Hajis for the Central Haj Committee was 66,000 and it was increased to 72,000 this year, necessitating the extension of subsidy to an additional 6,000 pilgrims. A total of Rs. 137 crores for Haj-2000 was given as subsidy by the Government.

Admitting that there was some difficulty in accommodation and late arrival of flights to India, Mr. Ahmed said the confusion created by the late arrival of flights was cleared within a week and had primarily been caused by the Saudia Arabian Government's decision to allow the flights of smaller countries to take off from Bay 6, allotted exclusively for Indian flights. As per the schedule, the whole exercise was completed by April 22, he said.

On the lack of accommodation, he said there had been a steady increase in the number of pilgrims over the years, which resulted in shortage of accommodation. He called upon various agencies involved in the process to come up with solutions to overcome this problem.

A new Haj Terminal was inaugurated at the Indira Gandhi International Airport for the convenience of passengers and as a result, the administrative expenses were brought down by Rs. 61 lakhs, despite the number of Hajis.`` Two additional embarkation points, one each at Cochin and Ahmedabad, were added and a long- pending demand of the two States was fulfilled.''

The new Central Haj Committee was constituted in May 1999 and the All-India Haj Conference, presided over by the Prime Minister, was held for the smooth conduct of Haj. There was a reduction in the rental accommodation of Category B and Sub- Category-C from 1,000 Saudi riyals to 900 Saudi riyals. Besides, orientation camps were held at district level and ``Haj Guide'' was printed in nine languages.

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