Indian pilgrims start arriving

JEDDAH, 27 January — The first batch of 296 Indian pilgrims arrived here yesterday on a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight. Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad and his wife Sunita received the pilgrims at the Haj terminal of Jeddah airport. The pilgrims were seen off at the Cochin airport in the southern state of Kerala by P.M. Sayeed, deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament), an Indian Embassy official said. Saudia is transporting some 20,000 Indian pilgrims this year after a gap of eight years. (A.N.)