DUBAI, FEB 17: Forty-two Indian Haj pilgrims, brought to Jeddah on the night of February 11 by a private tour group, were stranded at the airport's Haj terminal for two days due to lack of money.Their bank drafts were with the leader of the tour group who did not travel with the pilgrims. They finally left the Haj terminal on February 13 night after the arrival of a representative of the tour group, called Nurul Haram. The Indian consulate in Jeddah said it had asked private tour operators to ensure that the pilgrims did not get stranded due to lack of money or accommodation. According to Consul General of India in Jeddah, Afzal Amanullah, 54 Haj charter flights have reached the kingdom from India so far, carrying 20,272 pilgrims sponsored by the Haj committee.The pilgrims were first being taken to makkah where they perform umrah and then after a day they were being sent to Madina for eight days. Till Tuesday night, 14,572 pilgrims had been sent to Madina. Amanullah said the Indian Medical Mission had treated 4,551 pilgrims to date at makkah, Madina and at Jeddah Haj terminal. Most of the complaints related to fever, flu, sore throat, cough and weakness. He said it was mandatory for all Haj committee pilgrims to wear their metal wrist bands when they came from India in order to ensure their safety. It had been noticed that the pilgrims tried to avoid wearing the metal wrist bands but it was not proper, he added. Amanullah said it was noticed that all the pilgrims on an Air India flight from Delhi on February 13 came without their metal wrist bands.He also advised the pilgrims to carry some warm clothing as well as a blanket for their proection as it was still cold in Saudi Arabia. The pilgrims should also ensure that they came to Jeddah with valid travel documents, valid return tickets, valid Haj visas, meningitis certificate, required bank draft and an original doctor's prescription if they were carrying medicines from India. He said by and large, the arrival and movement of pilgrims had so far been smooth.
