[gallery td_gallery_title_input="Pilgrims arrive in Jeddah and Madinah, get gifts under ‘We love you, oh Guests of God' program" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" size="medium" ids="74104,74103,74105"] Mahmood Hasan & Hassan Cheruppa A ROUSING reception was accorded to the Guests of God as the first batches of pilgrims for this year's Haj arrived on Thursday in Jeddah and Madinah from the Indian subcontinent. The first flight was from New Delhi that landed at Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah at 5 a.m., 40 minutes ahead of schedule. It was followed by a flight from Pakistan while the first flight which landed at the Haj Terminal of Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) was from Dhaka, Bangladesh. In Madinah, the pilgrims were received in the traditional Madinah style with roses and gifts as part of the program titled "We love you, oh Guests of God." The Haj Ministry and other agencies had made elaborate arrangements to receive the pilgrims with the direct supervision of Madinah Emir Prince Faisal Bin Salman. India's Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. V. K. Singh (Retd.) and Indian Ambassador Ahmed Javed were among the senior Indian and Saudi officials who were present at the airport to welcome the pilgrims. Officials from the Ministry of Haj, and Madinah Airport, including Ahmad Sharqawi, deputy general manager at Tibah Company for Airport Operations, as well as the top officials of the Indian Haj Mission such as Consul General Mohammed Noor Rahman Sheikh, Deputy Consul General and Haj Consul Shahid Alam were also present. Speaking to reporters, Singh said: "I hope that everything will go well. I wish the pilgrims would have a memorable, safe, and spiritually fruitful Haj." Singh praised the Saudi government's great care and concern to improve the services and facilities for pilgrims. "The sincere services being extended by the government of Saudi Arabia to enable the pilgrims to perform their rituals in ease and comfort are highly commendable," Singh, said while praising the strong and historic bilateral relations between the two countries. Dr. Sajid Yousaffani, director general of the Pakistani Haj Mission, and other officials received the 320 pilgrims arriving from Karachi aboard a private airliner. The total number of pilgrims from Pakistan are expected to be 143,370. India's Consul General Sheikh said that pilgrims expressed their joy over the warm reception accorded to them. "The pilgrims came out of the airport after completing all the procedures in less than an hour. Many pilgrims from New Delhi could not believe their eyes when they saw the Indian minister at the airport to receive them," he said adding that all the arrangements are well in place in terms of the pilgrims' accommodation, transportation and medical services. There were 340 pilgrims on board the Air India flight. The pilgrims were accommodated at Mukhtara Al-Alamiyah Hotel near the Prophet's Mosque. A total of 1,690 Indian pilgrims on board seven flights — two each from New Delhi and Gaya, one each from Varanasi, Guwahati and Mangalore — arrived on Thursday. Haj flights from India will land in Madinah every day through Aug. 17 and from Aug. 21 pilgrims will start arriving in Jeddah, according to the consul general. A total of 136,020 Indians will perform Haj this year. Of these, 100,020 will perform the pilgrimage under the Central Haj Committee while 36,000 will come through private tour operators. It is expected that there is a five percent increase in the number of Haj flights arriving at the Madinah airport, with a total of 2,678, compared to last year. Abdullah Al-Rimi, director general of KAIA, and Bangladesh Ambassador to the Kingdom Golam Moshi were among those who were present at the Jeddah Haj Terminal to receive the pilgrims from Bangladesh. There were 401 pilgrims on board Flight No. 1011 coming from Dhaka. Speaking on the occasion, Al-Rimi said that the airport has been fully geared up to receive more than 850,000 pilgrims from all over the world. More than 7,000 staffers, representing 27 government and private agencies, have been engaged in implementing the Haj operation plan during the 75-day Haj season. According to the plan, all the lounges of the Haj terminal will be converted into arrival lounges from Aug. 4 to Sept. 5 and departure lounges from Sept. 17 to Oct. 16.
