Haj pilgrimage begins after voting in Telangana

Three chartered flights were scheduled on Monday from Hyderabad to Madinah and pilgrims from different parts of the State were set to travel.

Jeddah: Several Haj pilgrims from Telangana chose to cast their vote on Monday prior to departing for Saudi Arabia on the pilgrimage. Many from far-flung areas faced a dilemma owing to time constraints to travel to Hyderabad and complete immigration facilities.

Three chartered flights were scheduled on Monday from Hyderabad to Madinah and pilgrims from different parts of the State were set to travel. The pilgrims are required to report eight hours prior to their scheduled flight. Many of them require five to seven hours to reach Hyderabad from different parts of the State. Still, despite the challenges in voting first, travelling to Hyderabad and completing boarding formalities, many pilgrims opted to vote in the early hours before beginning their journey.

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“Being a citizen, it’s my duty to cast the vote to strengthen democracy and being faithful, it’s my obligation to fulfill Haj,” said Shaikh Ishaq Ali, a native of Jagtial, who cast his vote before leaving for Hyderabad to check in at Haj House. He was one among dozens of pilgrims who did the same on Monday.

This year 8,239 pilgrims from Telangana are coming to Saudi Arabia for Haj through the Haj committee, while from across the country, a total of 175,025 Indian pilgrims are coming to Saudi Arabia amidst the phase wise polling. The Haj flights commenced after three phases of polling.