Half a million pilgrims arrive for Haj

Dubai, Nov 20 (UNI) Nearly 31,000 Indians were among the half-a-million pilgrims who have arrived in Madinah to pay homage to Prophet Muhammad and pray at the Holy Mosque, according to official statistics released by the Haj Committee in the holy city.

Indians consitute the third largest number among foreign pilgrims.

A total of 424,014 pilgrims arrived in Madinah by Tuesday evening, 165,296 of these pilgrims have already left for Makkah while 258,660 are still in Madinah.

A breakdown of pilgrims who are still in Madinah on the basis of nationality showed Indonesians (57,591 pilgrims) topping the list, followed by Pakistanis (32,754) and Indians (30,930).

According to the Haj Committee, 63 Haj flights have so far landed at Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah. The committee said the average daily movement of buses carrying pilgrims to Madinah reached 356 against 488 buses leaving the city to other destinations, primarily Makkah.

UNI XC PD RAI1338