As many as 137,000 Indian pilgrims are expected to perform the next Hajj. Of them, 82,000 will come through the Hajj Committee and 55,000 through Private Tour Operators (PTOs), according to the visiting Indian Minister. Hajj 2006 will be more comfortable and safer as certain corrective measures have been adopted based on past experiences, said E. Ahamed, Indian minister of state for External Affairs. The minister was addressing the media after signing a Hajj agreement with Saudi Hajj Minister, Dr. Fouad Bin Abdul-Salam Al-Farsi, according to a report published today by Saudi Gazette. The Saudi government notified that only PTOs who are registered with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs will be eligible for the grant of (group) Hajj visas, he said. In order to meet this requirement, applications for registration are invited by the ministry from well-established and reputed PTOs involved in Hajj operations. The space per pilgrim has been increased to 3.5 square meters. Last year it was 3 sq.m per pilgrim. Last year's experiment to provide food to pilgrims in Mina by the Saudi Hajj establishments (Moallims) failed, so next Hajj we are reverting back to the old system where pilgrims will have to make their own food arrangements, he said.
