Bhopal:April 4, 2008:At the initiative of the Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, now direct flight would be available from Indore to the Haj pilgrims for Haj-2008. Formal sanction to make Indore an embarkation point for Madhya Pradesh was given at the All India Annual Conference held at New Delhi the other day. This would save the pilgrims various difficulties and financial burden that entails on their relatives. They would no longer be required to undertake the journey in two parts, which would save them Rs. five to thousand.
It may be mentioned here that the Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan had taken an initiative in this regard at Government of India and Central Haj Committee levels.
The Haj Committee of India had organized the All India Haj Conference in New Delhi recently. Several important decisions were taken at the conference with regard to Haj pilgrims of Madhya Pradesh undertaking Haj in year 2008. The Minister for External Affairs Shri Pranav Mukharji; Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Prafulla Patel; Minster of State for External Affairs Shri E. Ahmad; Consulate General of India, Jeddah Shri Ausaf Saeed; chairman of the Central Haj Committee Shri Iqbal Ahamad Saradagi; officer bearers of State Haj Committees, officials of Air India and Ministry of External Affairs and representatives of Saudi Arabia also attended the conference. Smt. Nusrat Mehandi represented Madhya Pradesh State Haj Committee.
Smt. Nusrat Mehandi informed that as per the decisions taken at the conference the Haj pilgrims of Madhya Pradesh would get a flight from Indore via Mumbai. The applications for Haj pilgrimage would be accepted from May 1,2008. About one lakh 10 thousand pilgrims would undertake Haj this year from the country this year. Flights from India for Jeddah would start from October 31, 2008 for Haj pilgrims. Similarly, the return flights would start on December 13,2008.
The powers of Central and State Haj Committees would be increased and the Haj Act would be amended. The government would provide building stickers and a bag weighing 35 kg of the same colour to all the pilgrims. The pilgrims would be permitted to bring with them ten liter Abe Jamjam with their luggage.
Dinesh Malviya