Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jun 22: Minister for minority welfare, Haj and Wakf, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, speaking after holding a meeting with officials of the state Haj committee at its office at Richmond Town, Bengaluru on Thursday June 21 said that three aircrafts will take off from the airport here and the first among them would leave on July 21. He also added that 15 flights will leave from Bengaluru airport on Haj pilgrimage between August 1 and 15.

The minister added that the inaugural function for the flights from Bengaluru will take place on the evening of July 31 at Haj Bhavan, Thirumenahalli, Bengaluru. Chief minister, H D Kumaraswamy, will inaugurate the pilgrimage, while union minister for minority affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, Gulam Nabi Azad and other national level leaders will be invited for the programme.

The minister said that 540 pilgrims from Kalaburagi area will take the flight from Hyderabad airport from August 1 onward, while pilgrims from Belagavi and the surroundings will fly in through Goa airport between July 26 and 28. "Out of 6,624 Haj pilgrimage quota allotted to the state by the central government, we picked beneficiaries from among 18,000 applicants through lottery and reservation category," he explained.

Zameer said that during his visit to New Delhi on July 29 and 30, he will discuss the issue of increasing Haj quota for the state with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and minster for external affairs, Sushma Swaraj. The minister said he would also discuss the issue of additional burden on pilgrims from the state on account of additional fee charged to them. He also stated that the office of the state Haj committee in Richmond Town is very old and after the Haj pilgrimage issue is attended to this year, the office would be shifted to the new Haj Bhavan.