GUWAHATI, June 22 - This time, the north-eastern region will see a fall in the number of participants in the holy Haj Yatra.
According to the North East Haj Pilgrims Reception Committee, last year altogether 4,000 pilgrims had participated in the Haj, whereas this year the number has decreased to 3,594.
Among the pilgrims, 2,432 are male and 1,162 are female. From Assam, the highest 197 pilgrims from Cachar district will participate in the Haj, followed by Karimganj (168) and Hailakandi (94).
From other parts of the North East, seven pilgrims from Nagaland, nine from East Khasi Hills district and eight from West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya and one each from Lohit Tezu and Papum Pare of Arunachal Pradesh will participate in the Haj. The committee also informed that this time altogether 168 applicants have cancelled their applications on financial and medical grounds.
Among the pilgrims of the North East, 2,958 will start the journey from Guwahati embarkation point and 636 will start the journey from Kolkata embarkation point.
From Guwahati, altogether 20 flights will carry the pilgrims where the first flight to Madina will depart on July 4 and the last flight will depart on July 18. The first flight from Jeddah will arrive in Guwahati on August 17 and the last flight will arrive on August 31.
