1,23,254 Indians arrive for Hajj in Mecca, Madina

Jeddah - 03 Nov 201 (PTI): More than 1.7 million Muslims, including 1,23,254 Indians have arrived for the world's largest annual human assembly, Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, even as 73 Indians have died, officials said today. "As of yesterday, the number of pilgrims who have already arrived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj rituals this year reached 1,735,149," state news agency SPA reported. A total of some 1.8 million Muslims were expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia to perform the hajj this year, in addition to between 700,000 and 800,000 pilgrims from within the kingdom, Saudi Minister of Hajj Fuad al-Farsi said. "A total of 1,23,254 pilgrims have arrived from India. 1,22,787 are in Mecca and 405 pilgrims are in Madina. So far 432 flights have come from India," Consulate General of India in Jeddah said. "As of today 73 pilgrims have expired out of which sixty two came through Haj Committee of India and eleven through Private Tour Operators," it said. The rituals will begin on Friday, the eighth day in the Muslim lunar calendar month of Dhul hijjah, or the month of Hajj. The pilgrimage will peak on Saturday as Muslims gather in the plain of Mount Arafat, outside Mecca in the western region of the Kingdom.