SRINAGAR, JULY 11: The Advisor to
Governor, Khurshid Ahmad Ganai today chaired a high-level meeting to finalize
arrangements for annual Hajj pilgrimage 2018.
The meeting
reviewed arrangements put in place for smooth conduct of Hajj pilgrimage and
ensure adequate arrangements at Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia on account of
accommodations and other facilities.
The meeting was
attended by ADGP Law & Order, Muneer A Khan, Divisional Commissioner
Kashmir Baseer A Khan, IGP Kashmir Zone, IGP Traffic, DG Health Services
Kashmir, Deputy Commissioners’ of Srinagar and Budgam, Managing Director JKPCC
and SRTC, SSP Srinagar, Budgam and Anti Hijacking, Chief Engineers PHE and
R&B, Commissioner SMC, Regional Transport Officer, Executive Officer State
Hajj Committee, Joint Director Information Kashmir and other officers.
Among officers of
Central Government, Deputy Commissioner Customs, Director Airport Authority of
India (AAI) in Srinagar and Station Manager Indian Airlines Srinagar attended
the meeting.
Laying stress on
the criticality of the arrangements put in place at the Hajj house and at
Srinagar airport, the Advisor Ganai on the occasion directed all the officers
to ensure their presence on ground and every facility is provided to the
pilgrims while their embarkation for Hajj.
He directed D.C
Srinagar to create a WhatsApp group and add all the stakeholders so that the
authorities remain abreast with the situation.
It is pertinent to
mention that a total of 10,183 pilgrims are leaving for annual Hajj pilgrimage
from J&K state among these 8419 are from Srinagar, 1639 and 125 pilgrims
are from Jammu and Ladakh respectively.
The first Haj
flight from Srinagar International Airport will depart on July 14, 2018 while
the last hajj flight from Srinagar airport will be on July 25, 2018, and
all outbound Haj flights for Jammu and Kashmir pilgrims will be from Srinagar
to Madinah.
The Advisor on the
occasion asked AAI to ensure that the hajj flights do not get cancelled due to
technical snags or any other issue and directed that if any flight gets
cancelled the arrangements of departure for the same flight should be made in
the evening or the next day rather than putting up it in queue much to the
inconvenience of the pilgrims.
He asked the Custom
and Immigration authorities to facilitate smooth and hassle-free clearance of
pilgrims at the airport/ Hajj house.
The Advisor Ganai
nominated Hajj Officer Mohammad Maqbool as Nodal Officer from Hajj Committee
and in case of his absence Firdous Ahmad was directed to perform his duties.
The boarding and
lodging facilities for the pilgrims from far flung areas were also discussed in
the meeting and the Advisor was assured of adequate arrangements in this
regard.
He directed State
Haj Committee to ensure that Khudam-ul-Hujaj perform their duties with utmost
care, as pilgrims repose great faith in the arrangements made by the State
Government. “All required measures should be in place for providing best
possible services to the pilgrims in holy land,” Ganai stressed.
The arrangements
for transportation of Pilgrims to the Airport were also discussed briefly. The
Advisor asked SHC to ensure adequate transport facility for the Pilgrims and
sufficient number of containers for lifting their baggage.
The Div Com, DC’s, D.G Health and departmental heads from Security,
Traffic, PHE, SMC and Fire and emergency besides a few other departments
assured their full cooperation vis-à-vis conducting of smooth hajj to the
advisor.
