KOCHI: The Haj pilgrim season will begin in the state on August 12 with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan flagging off the first flight to Saudi Arabia from the Haj Camp organised by the State Haj Committee at the Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery. The formal inauguration of the pilgrimage will be held on August 13.
A meeting of various department heads held at the CIAL on Tuesday reviewed the preparation for the pilgrimage. Accommodation facilities, toilets, prayer hall, canteen, Haj committee office will be arranged at the aircraft maintenance hangar. Elaborate arrangements will be made for the parking of pilgrimage vehicles on the camp premises.
The meeting presided over by Haj Committee chairman Thodiyoor Muhammedkunju Moulavi also decided to issue boarding passes to the pilgrims from the camp. The screened baggage of the pilgrims will be taken to the aircraft from the camp itself. There will be a maximum of three Haj services from the airport per day and the final schedule of flights will be available in two days, said Amit Meena, Malappuram District Collector.
The executive officer of the Haj camp said the pilgrims would be provided with all the facilities available in previous years. KURTC low-floor buses will operate services connecting Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur, Kalpetta and Ponnani with the airport. Trains through Aluva will be allowed temporary stops at Aluva. Medical booths of various treatment disciplines, BSNL communication facilities, special foreign exchange counter to issue Riyal for the pilgrims by Bombay Mercantile Cooperative Bank Ltd will also be arranged at the Haj camp, said the officer.