First batch of Hajj pilgrims return home

First batch of Hajj pilgrims return home

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Nov 13, 2012:The first batch of Hajj pilgrims have returned home after their pilgrimage. Airbus A-310 with 220 pilgrims on board landed at Mangalore International Airport at 2:15 p.m. today.

Around 1065 Hajj pilgrims from DK, Udupi, Kodagu, Hassan, and Chikmagalur will soon return in batches.

Maaz Ahmed Shareef, CEO of the State Hajj Committee; Y. Mohammed Kunhi, president of the Mangalore Hajj Management Committee; and H. S. Usman, president of the DK District Wakf Advisory Committee, welcomed the pilgrims.

In spite of a three-hour delay, the pilgrims had no complaints to make. Abdullah, a pilgrim, said that they had a happy journey, adding that the Zam Zam water cans, which had arrived at the airport in advance, were handed over to the pilgrims by the authorities.

Maaz Ahmed Shareef said that the rest of the pilgrims will return in five days. The second  batch of 220 pilgrims will arrive on Tuesday, and the third and fourth batches comprising 219 pilgrims each will arrive on Wednesday and Thursday. The last and fifth batch comprising 187 pilgrims will return on Friday.