JEDDAH, 23 December 2007 — With the successful completion of the annual pilgrimage, Haj pilgrims are all set to commence their journey from Makkah to the Haj Terminal tomorrow. Some of the pilgrims will head for Madinah to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque during the next few days.
Most of the consulates that organized pilgrims from their respective countries said the Haj 2007 passed off successfully without any untoward incident. They all acknowledged that the Haj 2007 was one of the best-managed pilgrimages in recent times. “The stone-throwing ceremony was very well organized and in an orderly manner,” the Indian Consulate stated.
The ritual was smooth all through because of the necessary orientation given to the pilgrims in Mina about the designated time for various international groups.
“The Indian Haj Mission, working under the Consulate General of India, had given the necessary orientation to the pilgrims in Mina about the designated timing for the Indian pilgrims. The pilgrims were specifically asked to guard themselves against crowd crushes and avoid areas of congestion,” Indian Consul General Dr. Ausaf Sayeed stated.
“A team of 20 Jamrat coordinators monitored the crowd on the Jamrat Bridge and alerted the field staff of any buildup at any of the three levels of the bridge,” he added.
Sayeed, accompanied by Consul (Haj), Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan, had an hour-long meeting with Deputy Minister of Haj Dr. Hatim Qadi to lay down a fool-proof plan for the smooth completion of the stone-throwing ritual, which had led to several stampedes and crowd crushes in the past.
The officials of the Tawafa Organization for South Asian Pilgrims, particularly Zaki Hariri, coordinator for the Indian pilgrims, also discussed these plans with the consulate officials. “As a result of all these combined efforts, the Indian pilgrims could complete their ritual without any difficulty,” Sayeed said.
All the Indian pilgrims are safe and healthy and many are preparing for their return journey. Some of the pilgrims would commence their journey home tomorrow, while others start heading for Madinah to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque.
In all, 110,000 Indian pilgrims performed Haj through the Haj Committee of India while 47,000 others performed the pilgrimage through private tour operators. Those who came through the Haj Committee will be flown back by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Air-India on 345 flights, Ajaz Khan said. Those flying from Madinah will head for destinations including Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mumbai, and partly Kolkata.
Pakistan’s Haj Director Bahrullah Hazarvi said the annual pilgrimage went off smoothly because of the excellent arrangements. “Saudi agencies and officials deserve all praise for the fool-proof arrangements they made,” he said.
In all 165,000 Pakistanis performed Haj, 10,000 more than last year.
Bangladesh Consul General Consul General Md. Ali Akbar said 45,000 people from his country performed Haj.
“They start their journey back to Bangladesh from Monday,” he said.
Ethiopian Consul General Tekleab Kebede said his country’s pilgrims were all set to visit Madinah after the Haj.
“Saturday night they will move from Mina to Makkah and Sunday they start moving to Madinah. Some of them will come to Jeddah on Monday to board their return flights,” Kebede said, adding that 5,000 people from his country performed Haj, which was smooth all through.
