Gearing up: Birsa Munda Airport

Ranchi, Sept. 30: Haj pilgrims from Jharkhand can look forward to a hassle-free journey and special treatment at Birsa Munda Airport this year.

They will not have to queue up with other passengers to go through boarding formalities at the terminal building as the airport authorities will set up a special makeshift structure that will have the same facilities that are available at the terminal building. Besides, a special transit flight will be introduced to take the pilgrims to Calcutta from where they travel to Medina and Jeddah.

The makeshift structure will be made of tent and will serve as a terminal building-cum-rest house for well over two months. It will have immigration counter, foreign exchange facilities, customs counter, luggage check counter and boarding pass kiosk. There will be special areas like waju (place for washing), ehram (place for changing clothes) and place for namaz. “We will meet all needs of the Haj pilgrims at the airport, including their religious requirements,” said Raju Raghavendra Kumar, the air traffic controller at Birsa Munda Airport.

He added that as the airport had so far been dealing only with domestic passengers and Haj pilgrims were international passengers, they would be treated as special.

“We had asked the authorities to come up with special facilities for the pilgrims. Ehram will have to be constructed within the tent so that those headed towards Jeddah can wear special dress as prescribed by Islam,” said Hazi Mokhtar, spokesperson of Jharkhand State Haj Committee.

As many as 2,700 pilgrims from Jharkhand are scheduled to go to Medina and Jeddah. While those going to Medina can wear normal dress during journey, those bound for Jeddah have to follow a prescribed dress code.

The pilgrims had for long been urging the state to introduce a special transit flight from Ranchi to Calcutta from where they board an international flight to Medina and Jeddah. Earlier, they had to travel on train. Their demand had been met for the first time this year, thanks to Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay.

The journey for the pilgrimage from Birsa Munda Airport will begin from November 2. All 2,700 pilgrims are scheduled to come back by December 31. Beginning from November 2, the special transit flight will offer its services till November 13. The return journey will begin from December 17 and end on December 31.