Mumtaz Ali Khan, minister for Hajj, Wakf meet pilgrims at Bajpe Air port

Mumtaz Ali Khan, minister for Hajj, Wakf meet pilgrims at Bajpe Air port

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Oct 28, 2010: Mumtaz Ali Khan, the minister for Hajj, Wakf, and minority development, said that the union as well as the state governments has done their best to make this year’s Hajj journey easy, comfortable, and happy for pilgrims. He was addressing hundreds of Hajj pilgrims from Udupi, DK, Kodagu, Uttara Kannada, and Dakshina Kannada during a special function organized at the old terminal building of the Mangalore International Airport on Oct 28, Thursday a few hours before the first batch of Hajj pilgrims was to leave. 

 

 

 

 

Expressing his satisfaction, the minister said that the state government as well as the Hajj Committee has taken the right decisions, adding that the Qurra selection was 100 percent satisfactory. Owing to the limited quota for the state, a large number of Muslims seeking to go on pilgrimage have been waiting for their turn for several years, he said and stressed the need to increase the Hajj pilgrim quota for Karnataka under the Hajj Committee Act 2002.

He suggested that the private operators’ quota and the VIP quota should be removed as MPs and legislators were abusing the facility. Explaining his statement, Khan said that VIPs were making use of the facility to arrange Hajj trips only for their relatives and friends and not for those who really deserve it. Expressing his gratefulness to the airport authorities for providing the old terminal building, he said that the department is thinking of alternative arrangements to conduct the Hajj camp next year because the old terminal building will no longer be available.

The minister said that the long-awaited Hajj Ghar will be constructed at Hegde Nagar near Devanahalli International Airport in Bangalore at an estimated cost of Rs. 20 crore. The Wakf ministry has earmarked funds worth Rs. 10 crore for the construction of this facility, and the work will commence when the department obtains Rs. 10 crore more. He also revealed that he has decided to donate a sum of Rs. 2 crore for the Hajj Ghar after selling his Devanahalli property, around 10 acres of land. 

He concluded his speech by wishing the pilgrims well and urged them to pray for their country, the state, and all the people of India.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A dua by Mangalore Qazi Thwaka Ahmed Musliyar marked the beginning of the programme, after which Y. Mohammed Kunnhi, the former chairman of the DK Wakf Committee, delivered the welcome address. 

S. Mohammed Ghouse Basha Ashrafi, the chairman of the state Hajj committee; Director M. Saleem Ambagilu; MLAs U. T. Khader and Abhay Chandra Jain; former minister B. A. Moideen Bawa; K. S. Mohammed Masood, the president of the Muslim Central Committee, who is also the chairman of the DK Wakf Committee, were the prominent personalities present. 

M. R. Vasudeva, the director of Mangalore Airport, informed that the Hajj flights have been rescheduled owing to unavoidable circumstances. The first flight will take off on Oct 28 at 8:30 p.m., the second on Oct 29 at 11:00 a.m., the third on Oct 29 at 2:30 a.m., and the fourth on Oct 30 at 9:30 p.m.