By IANS
Srinagar : The first batch of 213 pilgrims left Sunday for Jeddah in a chartered flight from Srinagar Airport.
For the first time, all the travel formalities of the pilgrims were completed at the recently opened Haj House equipped with comprehensive facilities like customs and immigration.
The state intelligence has not cleared around 250 pilgrims following “negative inputs”, but the chief minister assured a review.
Raising religious slogans, the pilgrims, accompanied by their relatives, reached the Haj House early Sunday.
The chief minister who saw off the pilgrims at the airport also reviewed the arrangements for them.
Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Mehboob Iqbal said: “This year in all 8,130 pilgrims will perform Haj and special flights will carry them to Saudi Arabia. The flights will continue to operate daily for the next one month.”