Direct flight to Jeddah for Goa Hajj pilgrims only on paper?
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, OCT 15
Is the much publicized special concession given to Hajj pilgrims from Goa a mere eyewash?
Former Chairman of Goa State Hajj Committee (GSHC) Sheikh Hassan today said that notwithstanding the demand for a direct flight to Jeddah from Goa, he has learnt that Hajjis are asked to travel to Mumbai to board another flight to Jeddah.
He said that the sole aim to have embankment facility was to ensure that pilgrims can board the flight at Dabolim and get down at the holy place.
“I have learnt from Central officials that the Goan Hajjis will be taken to Mumbai and embark in a connecting flight to Jeddah. Our intention was to start a direct flight from Goa to Hajj at Saudi Arabia and back,” Hassan said.
The Union Cabinet selected Goa as the new Hajj embarkation point following a three-year deliberation by the former GSHC with the Union Ministry to approve Goa as the Hajj embarkation point.
One may recollect, the decision was passed in 2009 but due to inexorable hurdles, Goan Hajjis could not make it from Goa.
Sheikh recalled that the former committee had roped in Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and Member of Parliament Francis Sardinha to support their cause.
“We also proposed to the Central Government that if Goan Hajjis are limited for the pilgrimage then Hajj Committee of India can combine pilgrims from neighbouring districts like Sawantwadi, Ratnagiri, Karwar and Sindhudurg,” he added.
GSHC secretary Siddihivinayak Naik was however not available for comments despite repeated attempts to contact him.
Goa has five per cent of total population who are Muslim. The former chairperson said that taking double flights will cost them more for Hajj trip. According to information, nearly 300 Hajjis from Goa according to the quota will be travelling to Jeddah on October 25.
The Goa State Haj Committee has meanwhile announced that the inoculation of meningitis vaccine are to be given to all the intending Hajj Pilgrims from the respective Public Health Centres at Valpoi, Panaji, Ponda, Margao and Vasco on October 16, 2010 from 9 am to 12 am
In a press note released by the information department, orientation program for Hajj pilgrims will be held on October 17, 2010 at Adarsh Hall, Margao, Goa and asked all pilgrims to attend the program.
