AMN / WEB DESK
Union Minister of Minority Affairs Smriti Irani along with Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi will see off the first batch of Haj pilgrims tonight at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. The flight carrying 381 Haj Pilgrims, will be the first flight from Delhi. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and members of Delhi state Haj Committee will also join the Ministers. Over 22 thousand Haj pilgrims will depart in several batches from Delhi. One lakh 40 thousand pilgrims have been selected across the country to perform Haj this year through the Random Digital Selection process.
The Minority Affairs Ministry said, out of the total selected pilgrims, over ten thousand persons are above 70 years of age. The government had received a total of one lakh 84 thousand applications. The Ministry said, a quota of over one lakh 75 thousand pilgrims had been allotted to India this year. This year, the largest ever contingent of over four thousand ladies without Mahram will perform Haj. Each year Saudi Arabia hosts around 25 lakhs to 30 lakhs Haj pilgrims from across the globe to visit Makkah and India sends the third largest contingent of pilgrims in the world.