Mumbai, July 13: The Haj Committee of India on Saturday organized a flagging-off ceremony for the pilgrims as the first Haj flight from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai will depart on Sunday, July 14. This year, a record 200,000 Indian Muslims are expected to perform the Haj pilgrimage. The first group of 419 Indian pilgrims for the Haj arrived in Saudi Arabia on July 5 to perform the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. According to reports, the Haj will take place tentatively from August 8 to August 14. Haj Subsidy Withdrawn, Other Things to Know For Indian Pilgrims.

The first chartered plane that took off from New Delhi late on July 3 carrying 419 pilgrims. The pilgrims were received by Indian Ambassador Ausaf Sayeed, Consul General Noor Rahman Sheikh and Haj Consul Y Sabir at the Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina. According to reports, the Haj pilgrims will stay in the Prophet's City for eight days and will move to Makkah on July 12.  Hajj 2019 to Cost Less? Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Announces 100% Subsidy Free.

In a bid to woo pilgrims, Saudi Arabia increased India's Haj quota from 170,000 to 200,000, paving the way for 30,000 more Indians to go for the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in the kingdom. In 2018, Saudi Arabia increased India's Haj quota by 5,000, while in 2017 it was increased by about 35,000.

According to a report by the Saudi Gazette, out of a total of 1,40,000 people performing the pilgrimage under the aegis of the Haj Committee of India, about 63,000 will arrive in Medina by July 21 and the remaining 77,000 will arrive in Jeddah between July 20 and August 5, the report added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 13, 2019 10:56 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).