by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Representational image
New Delhi : Taking ahead the process of ferrying Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia by the sea route, the government has floated global tenders for roping in shipping companies and the operations may start as early as the next Haj season, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi informed on Monday.
“There has been much progress on this front. The Saudi Arabia government’s consent has already been obtained and now we have floated global tenders to rope in shipping companies to ferry Indian Haj pilgrims to Jeddah,” Naqvi said.
“We have set a target to complete all the process by 2019. However, there are many other things which we need to consider including the security of the pilgrims as there are some stressed stretches on the route such as Syria. If everything goes right, we may be able to ferry the pilgrims from next year itself, that is, Haj 2019,” he added.
Travelling by ship is likely to significantly reduce the travel cost and make Haj affordable to many more people, Naqvi said. However, the Minister said, it was hard to tell at this point how much the actual reduction in the fare would be.
“Initially, there would be only one embarkation point for the pilgrims choosing to travel by sea and it would be Mumbai. The modern ships can cover the 2,300-odd nautical miles distance between Mumbai and Jeddah in three to four days,” Naqvi said.
Haj travel by sea was discontinued in 1995 as MV Akbari, the ship which used to ferry the pilgrims, aged and became unfit for use. The idea to revive the sea route was mooted by the Minority Affairs Ministry last year to offset the effect of the subsequent withdrawal of subsidy.
The government has withdrawn the Haj subsidy from this year. However, the cost has not gone up drastically, as had been feared, due to a number of effective steps taken by the government such as negotiating with the airlines to rationalise the air fares and giving the pilgrims the option to choose their embarkation point.
This year, 1,75,025 pilgrims from India will go for Haj. Of these, 1,28,702 pilgrims will go through the Haj Committee of India — which includes about 47 per cent women — while 47,323 Haj pilgrims will go through private tour operators, Naqvi said.
A total of 3,55,604 applications had been received for Haj, including 1,89,217 male and 1,66,387 female applicants.
Besides, for the first time Muslim women from India will also go to Haj without ‘mehram’ (male companion). A total of 1,308 women applied to go for Haj without mehram and all of them have been granted permission by the government.
“This year, we are also setting up two 40-bed hospitals in Mecca, one 15-bed hospital in Medina, 10 branch dispensaries in Mecca, three dispensaries in Medina and one at Jeddah Haj terminal to provide better healthcare facilities to the Indian Hajis,” Naqvi said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, World
New Delhi: (Maeeshat News) The latest update from India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the death toll of Indian Haj pilgrims in the Thursday incident has risen to 18. More than 700 Haj pilgrims were crushed to death during a deadly stampede in Mina on 24th Sep.
“Our officials on the ground in Makkah have been working continuously to ascertain information and reach out to family members of missing pilgrims. According to latest information, 18 Indians have died in the tragedy. Our mission is working with Saudi authorities and family members to confirm the identities of the deceased and expedite formalities for release of the mortal remains,” tweeted ministry’s spokesperson Vikas Swarup around 8 AM today (Saturday).
According to the Civil Defence of Saudi Arabia, 717 Haj pilgrims were killed during the stampede and 850 others were injured.
India President, Vice President, PM condole deaths at Haj stampede
President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top leaders of the country on Thursday condoled the deaths in a horrific Haj stampede in Saudi Arabia.
“Deeply saddened by tragic incident at Mina on Thursday, during which a large number of Haj pilgrims lost their lives,” the president tweeted.
Hamid Ansari, in a message to Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Nayef, said: “We deeply mourn this tragedy and extend our heartfelt condolences to you and to the people of the Saudi Arabia. We express our solemn thoughts and pray in this hour of grief for the departed souls.”
PM Modi, in his message from the US, said: “Distressing news from Mecca. Pained at loss of lives due to the stampede. Condolences to families of the deceased and prayers with the injured.”
UN chief deeply saddened over Haj deaths
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that he was deeply saddened to learn of the death of more than 700 Haj pilgrims as a result of a stampede near Mina in Saudi Arabia.
“This tragic incident is all the more distressing as it took place on the first day of the Holy Eid Al-Adha marking the end of the annual Haj season,” Xinhua reported quoting a statement issued here by Ban’s spokesman on Thursday.
The secretary-general also extended his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and expresses his sympathies to all the governments concerned, the statement added.
In another media report it has said that the presence of the convoy of the son of the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in central Mina prompted the stampede that killed hundreds of pilgrims on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca, a report says.
The Arabic-language daily al-Diyar said in a report on Thursday that the convoy of Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud played a central role in the deadly crush on the third day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage earlier in the day.
The report said that Salman, who had sought to attend the huge gathering of pilgrims in Mina, a large valley about five kilometers (three miles) from Mecca, arrived at the site early on Thursday accompanied by a huge entourage.
The report said 200 army forces and 150 police officers escorted the prince.
The report said the presence of the prince in the middle of the population prompted a change in the direction of the movement of the pilgrims and a stampede.
The Lebanese daily further said that Salman and his entourage swiftly abandoned the scene, adding that the Saudi authorities seek to hush up the entire story and impose a media blackout on Salman’s presence in the area.
However, officials in Saudi Arabia have denied the report, calling it “incorrect.” The Saudi health minister has blamed the pilgrims for the tragedy. “If the pilgrims had followed instructions, this type of accident could have been avoided,” Khaled al-Falih said.
According to Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization more than 1,300 people, including 125 Iranians, were killed in the crush. This as Saudi officials put the death toll at 717 and the number of injured at 863.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has declared three days of national mourning following the incident while urging the Saudi government to “shoulder its heavy responsibility” in the stampede and “meet its obligations in compliance with the rule of righteousness and fairness.”
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia should be held accountable over the death of the pilgrims. He said that the fatal crush started after Saudi security forces blocked two streets while the pilgrims were walking towards the final ritual of the Hajj.
“We can by no means remain indifferent towards Saudi Arabia’s irresponsible behavior,” said Amir-Abdollahian, adding, “The tactlessness on the part of relevant Saudi authorities to provide security for the pilgrims cannot be overlooked.”
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With inputs from IANS
