JEDDAH, 3 November 2003 — The upcoming Haj has become cheaper for Indians. “Pilgrims traveling from India will pay 2,000 to 2,500 Indian rupees less compared to last year,” Consul General Syed Akbaruddin said here yesterday. “The drop in the Haj cost per pilgrim depends on the category he is placed. The main reason, however, is the rupee gaining in value against the dollar,” he told a press conference.
According to him, the cost per pilgrim this time is around 69,996 rupees in the first category, 65,698 rupees in the second category and 62,014 rupees in the third category. The categories are based on the distance of buildings from the Holy Haram. The Central Haj Committee (CHC) pays pilgrims about SR2,000 each for their in-Kingdom expenses at the time of their departure.
Akbaruddin, who gave a schedule of incoming Indian pilgrims, said the CHC had granted exemption of stay to 374 pilgrims on the basis of their claim that they had blood relations here. The CHC had set Oct. 18 as the last date for receiving applications for exemption. Pilgrims in Makkah will have the facility of receiving e-mail messages like last Haj, but this time a new feature is that they can send replies to their messages.
“In all 120,000 Indians — about the same number as last Haj, will perform the annual pilgrimage. Of them 70,000 will come through the CHC on 254 flights to be operated by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Air-India flights between Dec. 24 and Jan. 26. Of the rest, about 35,000 will come through private tour operators and the remaining from third countries,” Akbaruddin said.
He said Saudia would operate 114 flights out of a total of 254 from India. The 140 others would be operated by Air-India. Saudia will bring more pilgrims from Delhi (45 flights), Bombay (35), Ahmedabad (18) and Hyderabad (16), compared to last Haj, while Air-India will operate its Haj flights from Bangalore (9), Calicut (19), Madras (7), Calcutta (16), Lucknow (40), Nagpur (6) and Srinagar (43).
Air-India will fly in the first batch of pilgrims from Calicut at 2.05 p.m. on Dec. 24. The last group of pilgrims will depart by Saudia from Madinah to Ahmedabad at 2 a.m. on March 7. Consul (Haj) Abdul Majeed Padar and Hifzur Rahman, consul (press and information) will be among the officials drafted for pilgrim care — the former in Makkah and the latter in Madinah. Vice Consul K.K. Abrol will be in charge at the Haj Terminal.
