Stalin urges Modi to re-include Chennai as Haj embarkation point

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thurday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to re-include Chennai as an embarkation point for Haj pilgrims.

The Haj Committee had earlier removed Chennai from the list of cities from embarking points.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Stalin said that about 4,500 Haj pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands used Chennai as the embarkation point during 2019.

Even pilgrims from Kerala and Karnataka used Chennai as the embarkation point, he said.

He pointed out that the present Haj embarkation point for pilgrims from Tamil Nadu was Kerala's Kochi and it is around 700 km from the Tamil Nadu capital. He said that he had received several petitions from across the state, Puducherry, and Andaman and Nicobar islands to re-include Chennai as the Haj embarkation point, and requested that the officials concerned be directed to include Chennai again to avoid inconvenience for the Haj pilgrims - IANS