Sri Lankan pilgrim rest house opened

Sri Lankan Haj and Umrah pilgrims who come from Colombo will greatly benefit from the Pilgrims Rest opened recently near Colombo International Airport.
The big complex was built by the Indonesian government in memory of the Indonesian Haj pilgrims who lost their lives in a plane crash at Katunayake, a few kiloeters from the airport, in 1977.
The rest house will help Haj and Umrah pilgrims coming from various parts of Sri Lanka to have a bath and put on their ihram. Facilities include a separate prayer room for women with an attached ablution area. It also has separate bathrooms for both men and women.
Initially, the facilities will be open from Fajr to 10 p.m. The Indonesian Embassy in Colombo is currently making arrangements to keep the complex open round the clock after certain specific arrangements are made.
Mohamed Haniffa Mohamed, former speaker of Parliament and chairman of the Sri Lanka Islamic center, formally opened the renovated building in the presence of officials of the Indonesian Embassy in Colombo and community members.
The rest house is conveniently located on the seaside of the Colombo-Negombo Road, approximately 500 meters before the road turns to the airport.
Rizmi Reyal, managing director of Traveller Global and currently on an Umrah pilgrimage in Makkah, said that this is a major development concerning Sri Lankan Haj and Umrah pilgrims.
Hitherto, he said, the pilgrims, who hail from all parts of the island, used the mosques at Mabola and Minuwangado, which had limited facilities to cater to the pilgrims’ needs.
Reyal, who is also the former president of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Sri Lanka, said the complex was built with the help of the Indonesian local mission in Colombo and had been fully renovated to cater to the pilgrims' needs. He said such a noble service rendered by the Indonesian government would not only help the pilgrims, but the pilgrims’ prayers would also bless the souls of those who died in the plane crash.