Chairman of the Hajj Board Sheikh I.C Quaye has revealed that six flights will take off from the Tamale International Airport at the 2017 Hajj Pilgrimage while a total of 6,200 pilgrims will be allowed to perform the 2017 Hajj.
Four flights flew directly from the airport to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to perform the hajj last year.
The additional two flights, according to the Chairman, has become necessary considering the proximity of the region to surrounding regions that includes the Brong Ahafo, Upper East and Upper West Regions with large Muslim population.
Members of the Hajj Board were in Tamale for a two day working visit to the Tamale International Airport and the temporal Hajj Village.
“There will be six flights from the Tamale International Airport with three thousand pilgrims, you succeeded last year and that’s why we have come to you, if you had failed, I would have requested to meet some other people but you succeeded and we know you will succeed this year”.
The team led by the Chairman of the board Sheikh I.C Quaye met with the members of the security and management of the Tamale International Airport.
Sheikh I.C Quay in his address also revealed that pilgrims from the Northern Region for the first time be paired with their counterparts from the same region and even families.
“For the first time we’re going to pair pilgrims from the same region and even family of four, previously that wasn’t considered hence the ineffective communication but this time that will not happen, we are also going to give them free bags, feed them on arrival and while they await to be transported to their residence and also provide buses to transport them to and fro the journeys”.
He demanded a first class pilgrimage owing to the performance of the committee during the 2016 pilgrimage which he said was done without challenges.
“You’re first class people and the board demands a first class service for pilgrims, you did perfectly last year and we expect an extraordinary pilgrimage this year and I trust you will deliver”.
The adviser to the chair Dr Abubakar Sadick disclosed that the visit was necessitated by the fact that the new board inherited no documentation from the previous administration.
He however admitted that the current board has been provided with a handing over note by the previous government, which he said were just summaries void of details of pilgrimage made in previous years.
“We need briefing from you because it is interesting to note that this current board inherited no documentation from the previous administration on their operations and organizations and we inherited no secretariat thus the need to engage you to identify and rectify shortfalls, that’s if there were any”.
The team assessed the runway project at the Tamale airport. They also visited the Tamale Sports Stadium to assess if the venue could substitute the Jubilee Park which was used as a temporal Hajj Village in 2016 as the venue has become a major concern to organizers.
The board will today Thursday May, 25 2017 meet with the various Hajj Agents in the region to end their two days working visit.
By Zubaida Ismail |3news.com|Ghana