A record 200,000 Indian Muslims are expected to perform the Haj pilgrimage this year, including 160,000 through the Haj Committee of India and the rest through Haj Group Organisers, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here on Saturday.
He said that the HGOs would take 10,000 pilgrims at therates finalized by the Haj Committee. The pilgrims will leave by more than 500flights from 21 embarkation points all over India.
Naqvi also said that the number of women Haj pilgrims goingwithout ‘Mehram’ (male escort) will be 2,340, or double of last year’s 1,180who went for the most important pilgrimage in the life of a Muslim.
The main date for Haj pilgrimage this year is August 9, inthe DhulHijjah month, 1440, as per the Islamic calendar, and it will continuefor five days.The flights from India for Haj 2019 will startin from next Thursday (July 4) from New Delhi, Gaya, Guwahati and Srinagar andother cities in phases.