First batch of Haj pilgrims to depart on May 9

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: The pilgrims, selected for Haj 2024 by the State Haj Committee, will start their holy journey from May 9.

Haj flights will remain operational till May 26. Speaking to News Trail, Executive Officer of the Karnataka State Haj Committee, Sarfaraz Khan (in pic), said that out of 13,300 applicants over 10,500 have been selected as per the state quota.

"Out of those cancelled, we have included around 1,900 applications in the waiting list which is operational. We have urged the Haj Committee of India to approve the applications of the prospects in the list. We can also arrange a different embarkation point for their journey if necessary," he said.

The Haj Committee has been holding orientation programmes for the pilgrims as well as for the Khadim-ul-Hujjaj (volunteers) across various districts.

Khan says that the training is important for the Hajis as it includes the knowledge of immigration and procedure of performing Haj.

Mobile applications such as 'Haj Suvidha' and 'Hajj & Umrah' are also available for assistance. The Haj Committee is also administering the vaccines for the pilgrims.

"As of now around 1500 people are attending these programmes in Bengaluru," Khan further said.

As Mangaluru is not the embarkation point this year, many of the pilgrims from other districts are expected to take off from Bengaluru Airport. There will be two or three flights with a capacity of 350 passengers each operational per day on an average to Madinah.

The flights will be operational till May 25. The first flight is scheduled to take off around 9:45 pm on May 9 from Bengaluru.

"As the polling will end by May 7, we have requested the Election Commission to allow us to invite the Karnataka Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and the Ministers for Minority and Haj, for the inauguration ceremony on May 8," he added.

The 40-day Haj package will cost less than the market price if you book your seat under the government. As per the sources, the cost for the Haj in 2024 will be between 3.5 lakhs to 4 lakhs.