CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to retain Chennai as the boarding point for the Haj pilgrimage. Stalin made this request in a letter to Modi after the Haj Committee of India, in a recent notification, made Kochi a boarding point for the Haj pilgrimage 2021, instead of Chennai.
As per a press statement, the chief minister said pilgrims would be inconvenienced since the embarkation point has been changed to the Kochi airport. He recalled that more than 4,500 Haj devotees from Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Andaman and Nicobar islands travelled from Chennai to Jeddah in 2019.
Stalin further said he had received a large number of petitions from Muslims and political parties on this issue. He said the prime minister should instruct the departments concerned to change the embarkation point back to Chennai.
Pilgrimage applications open
Meanwhile, the TN Haj committee, on behalf of the Haj Committee of India, invited applications for Haj 2022. In a press statement, the committee said the application process will begin online from November 1 and conclude on January 31 next year. The online application form can be filled on the Haj Committee of India website — www.hajcommittee.gov.in — or the ‘HCOI’ mobile app.
Stalin thanks frontline workers
Chennai: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday expressed gratitude to the police, medical personnel, TANGEDCO staff, and manual scavengers, who worked tirelessly during the last few days to bring normalcy in Chennai. In a series of tweets, Stalin said he bowed to their dedicated service to alleviate people’s sufferings. “Let’s all work together to return to normalcy. Let’s save the people. Your sacrifice is priceless. Your service is immense,” he added