Pilgrims going to Haj through the Haj Committee of India (HCI) will now be getting fresh Indian food during their stay at Madina, said R Roshan Baig, minister for Haj, here on June 17.
This step was taken due to a ban by the Saudi Arabian government on the pilgrims cooking food in rooms given to them.
“Indian caterers from HCI will be taken to Madina to cook food which will be supplied to the pilgrims.”
At first, fresh food will be served to those staying in Medina for seven days. It is from next year onwards that the food will be served in Mecca as well.
Around 4,977 people will be going through HCI from Karnataka for this year’s pilgrimage.
Pilgrims going through the HCI could not spend much and had to face a lot of problem. Private operators charge rupees four to seven lakh, whereas the HCI charges Rs 1.6 lakh per person, Mr. Baig further added.
He said that a meeting would be organized with the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on June 23.
“We will request the ministry to increase the Haj pilgrims quota from Karnataka. It has been reduced from 7,000 to 5,000 this year,” he said.Courtesy: Karnataka Muslims
http://karnatakamuslims.com/portal/r-roshan-baig-indian-food-for-pilgrims-during-haj/