Nevertheless, hundreds of pilgrims were stranded, mostly in Madinah, due to canceled flights. “The backlog of stranded pilgrims has almost been cleared. A few pilgrims who are still stranded will return home today,” Baba said, adding that as of Friday (Dec.3), 184 flights had departed from Jeddah and Madinah carrying 49,402 pilgrims.
He said the number of remaining pilgrims in Makkah stands at 53,649 and in Madinah 22,848. He also added that the Indian mission had launched a 24-hour helpline at its Makkah office to assist pilgrims.
A total 170,491 Indian pilgrims performed Haj this year; out of these 125,000 came through the Haj Committee of India, while 45,491 pilgrims came through private tour operators.
Speaking about the housing accommodation of Indian pilgrims, which was criticized by the leader of the Haj Goodwill Delegation Justice Nisar Ahmad Kakru, the consul general said, “We hired 615 buildings in Makkah. Out of these, 336 were within one kilometer from the Grand Mosque, 104 buildings were between 1 and 1.6 km from the Grand Mosque, and 175 buildings were in Azizia.”
Without mentioning Justice Kakru’s allegations, the consul general explained that the hiring of buildings is done through a three-tier system. “Initially, the Building Selection Team (BST) members from state Haj committees select buildings and recommend them to us for approval. These building are then inspected by Building Selection Committee (BSC) members who are also members of the Haj Committee of India. Only the buildings approved by the BSC are hired by the Indian mission,” Baba said.
He added that the whole process is transparent with no space for irregularities. “To ensure transparency and avoid any misinformation, details of all buildings hired for Indian pilgrims, along with their photographs and the names of the BST and BSC members who selected them, are uploaded on the consulate’s website.”
He added there is no question of renting buildings that do not fulfill general safety and other requirements. “It’s just not possible. Since only buildings with certificates from Makkah Municipality are rented, the issue of compromising safety or other requirements does not arise,” Baba said.
“We must remember that the Saudi authorities are very strict and do not issue certificates to buildings which are not worthy of housing pilgrims,” he added.
However, due to large-scale demolitions in the vicinity of the Grand Mosque, options to find affordable accommodation for pilgrims nearby the giant prayer complex are very limited. “This was evident by the fact that out of the 62,500 pilgrims who applied for accommodation in the Green Category (one kilometer from the Grand Mosque), we were only able to house 57,000 there,” he said.
The consul general said that there are prescribed norms to accommodate pilgrims in buildings. “As per Saudi norms, each pilgrim is entitled to a four square meter space; licenses are issued to buildings accordingly. No one can accommodate any extra pilgrims in any building beyond the number prescribed as per its size in the license,” Baba said.
Pilgrims in need of assistance can telephone the Indian Consulate Haj helpline in Makkah on 02 549-6000 and 02 545-8000. Those phoning from a landline within Makkah should omit the 02 city code, while those telephoning from abroad should dial the following numbers: +966 2 549-6000 and +966 2 545-8000.
