Hyderabad, May 25: A total of 11,464 Haj pilgrims have left for Medina through Haj Committee from Hyderabad embarkation point since May 8. The 38th and last batch of pilgrims left for the holy journey on Saturday (May 25).
Out of the total Haj pilgrims, who left for Saudi Arabia from Hyderabad, 8,239 pilgrims are from Telangana.
Pilgrims from states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal also boarded the flights of Saudi Airlines from Hyderabad.
Pilgrims had the option of choosing embarkation points as per their convenience. Many from neighbouring states and few from other states opted for Hyderabad.
The Haj flights from the city started on May 8. The pilgrims from Telangana were the first to arrive in Saudi Arabia.
According to the Telangana State Haj Committee (TSHC), the pilgrims left for Medina instead of Makkah. After a seven-day stay in Medina, they reached Makkah.
Each pilgrim has paid Rs. 3.5 lakh for making the pilgrimage from the Hyderabad embarkation point.
Eminent personalities and senior officials were invited to flag-off the buses carrying pilgrims to the airport from Haj House, Nampally.
On the second day, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind zonal president Dr Khalid Mubashriuz Zafar and vice-president Mohammed Azharuddin flagged off buses.
Regional Passport Officer J. Senhaja flagged off a batch of pilgrims on May 20.
Chairman Telangana Haj Committee Moulana Syed Gulam Afzal Biyabani Khusro Pasha thanked the Regional Passport Officer for timely clearance of 1,000 applications of pilgrims to issue them passports. She expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made at the Haj House.
The Haj camp at Haj House facilitated the movement of pilgrims who arrived from their respective states and districts. All facilities were provided to pilgrims by various departments. They boarded buses to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to take off from there by the scheduled Haj flights.
The State Haj Committee asked the pilgrims to contact Khadim Ul Hujjaj if they face any problems.
