The first flight carrying 250 Indian pilgrims will arrive here on Oct 20, said a press release issued by the Consulate General of India Sunday. India is sending 160,491 pilgrims this Haj. Of these, 1,15,000 will be coming through Haj Committee of India (HCoI) and the the rest through India based private tour operators. A total number of 341 aircraft would be pressed into service to transport the pilgrims. To assist the Indian consulate in Haj arrangements, the government of India is sending five senior officers as coordinators, 135 doctors, 146 paramedics, 51 assistant Haj officers and 181 Haj assistants. About 500 buildings have been hired to accommodate the pilgrims. A mobile team of officers called “Mission Field Officers” will be deployed to assist branch offices. There will be 11 branches and dispensaries in Makkah region and five in Madina. An information center near the vicinity of the Haram will guide the pilgrims. Transport arrangements have been made for 32,000 pilgrims residing in Azizia. Volunteers and part-time consulate staff would be present at different bus stops to assist the pilgrims. A round-the-clock functional office and dispensary are being set up at the Jeddah Haj Terminal to take care of the various formalities to be completed by the pilgrims at the terminal and to provide primary healthcare. A team of 10 Indian doctors have already arrived here and are coordinating with various Saudi health agencies to handle swine flu related cases. Two isolation rooms have been set up in the 30-bed hospital run by the Indian Haj Mission in Makkah to handle swine flu related cases. __
