The first Haj flights of the season took off from the Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery, on Sunday with 680 pilgrims on two flights that left at 2 p.m. and 2.05 p.m.
The Nedumbassery Haj camp was inaugurated on Saturday by Minister for Local Administration K.T. Jaleel, who described the Haj as a coming together of people over the barriers of nationality, culture and language.
A total of 2,431 pilgrims will leave for the Haj from Nedumbassery this season. Among them are 330 from Lakshadweep.
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A total of 327 pilgrims from Lakshadweep were on the second flight that left on Sunday, Haj Committee sources said here. Three pilgrims from Lakshadweep, who could not make the flight on Sunday, will fly on Monday. Two flights with a total of 680 pilgrims are scheduled for Monday. The flights, operated by Air India, will take off on Monday at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
There are two embarkation points for the Haj pilgrimage from the State for the current season – Nedumbassery and Karippur. A total of 13,600 people will join the pilgrimage this season from Karippur. Of them, 5,699 pilgrims have already set out on their journey. There will be more than 2,000 women pilgrims this season without being accompanied by women.
The inauguration of the Nedumbassery Haj pilgrim camp was attended, among others, by State Haj Committee chairman C. Mohammed Faizi. He urged the pilgrims to utilise the facilities arranged under the the government aegis.
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