Tortuous journey to salvation for Indian Hajis

Several were victims of pickpockets and scores lost their travel documents and identity cards. In some cases, family members were accommodated at separate places like a husband being lodged at one place and the wife several kilometres away. Though some complaints were attended to, many remained unredressed.

The pilgrims complained that there is no single authority to handle and manage the Haj affairs. While the central Haj committee is responsible for the pilgrims travel to the Saudi kingdom, it has no role to look into the grievances of the pilgrims. The Indian consulate is responsible for the pilgrims in SaudiArabia.

Central haj committee chairman Salamatullah said the role of the members of his body in Mecca and Medina is merely as observers. “We are totally dependent on the consulate and the authorities to get information about the welfare of the Hajis,” he added.

Despite the limited number of consulate staff trying their best to deal with the complaints of the pilgrims, the 150-strong staff deputed by the Central government lacks experience. The behaviour of some them towards the Hajis is rude and unsympathetic.

Some pilgrims said that they did not receive their money in Saudi Arabia in time, which led to lot of difficulties. The Indian government had this time hired more than 450 buildings to accommodate the pilgrims.

There were two types of accommodation for the pilgrims in Mecca and Mina, the place where more than 180 people died in a stampede.

But there were very few complaints about accommodation. Barring a few buildings, the accommodation was to the specifications.

The first classaccommodation had air conditioners, fridge and other facilities and were mostly within 600 metres of the Kaaba.

Even in Mina, fire resistant tents were provided to most of the Indians. However, due to restrictions imposed by the Saudi authorities, the Hajis faced lot of difficulties in getting food and other essential items, which were available in limited quantity and very high prices.

Each pilgrim pays around Rs 62,000 for the Haj, Shabbi Ahmed, executive officer of the Haj committee stated. While Rs 12,000 was paid for the air travel, nearly Rs 18,000 is charged for accommodation and transport in Saudi Arabia.

The Haji also gets foreign exchange from this amount, which he utilises for his needs in the kingdom. During the 40-day stay, the pilgrims also faced lot of problems regarding medicare. The inadequate staff to handle thousands of patients further complicated matters.