The Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the Chennai International airport as an embarkation point for Haj pilgrims. The city had continued to be an important embarkation point since flights to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, began operation in 1987. However, this time the Haj Committee of India, Mumbai, did not include Chennai as an embarkation centre for Haj 2021. Instead, pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were clubbed with those from Kochi in Kerala. The Tamil Nadu Haj Committee and the Tamil Nadu Haj Service Society had an exclusive Haj House for pilgrims, he said, adding that he appreciated the State’s Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami request to Mr. Modi to intervene and restore Chennai as an embarkation point.

Source: The Hindu November 19, 2020 19:56 UTC