Telangana’s Haj pilgrims unable to travel from Makkah to Madinah

Jeddah: The Telangana Haj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia are in the process of offering prayers at the grand mosque in Makkah and paying respects to the Prophet Mosque in Madinah.

All Telangana pilgrims arrived directly to Makkah through Jeddah Airport and after Haj now they have been moving to Madinah where they will spend eight days prior to returning home. They will offer forty prayers at Masjide Nabwi in Madinah during their eight days of stay.

The pilgrims in batch phase according to airbus flight capacity have been moving to Madinah by road from Makkah. So far, three batches for three flights were moved to Madinah.

“We have been spending fine time in praying at Masjide Nabvi and spiritually enjoying pilgrimage”, said Mohammed Jameel, who hails from Nalgonda.

However, there is some chaos in moving Telangana pilgrims from Makkah to Madinah as Indian Haj officials are unclear on the exact date of departure from Makkah, some pilgrims alleged.

“We were simply clueless. First they said that it was on Thursday or Friday morning then Saturday now it is Sunday, but we are not certain until we board the bus,” said a pilgrim from Telangana who was unwilling to disclose his name.

A total of 21,228 pilgrims have returned home in different cities in India through 79 chartered flights as on Sunday. 35,209 pilgrims have been spending their time in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, according to Indian officials. 9,316 pilgrims moved to Madinah and 26073 camped in Makkah.

So far this year, a total of 25 Indian Haj pilgrims have died in holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, they added.

The logistics is the core issue for Haj pilgrims where personal luggage of pilgrims that includes essential items such grocery, food provision, cloths and other material during their longer stay in Saudi Arabia pose challenge not only to pilgrims but entire machinery that involves.

In great relief, this year advance luggage packing arrangements have been made for Indian pilgrims to avoid last minute glitches in transportation.

The rising temperature levels are making it difficult for many Indian pilgrims. Lately, the temperature is rising as the summer season already started early by recording a high temperature.