Jeddah: Many Haj pilgrims from Telangana, who were to board flights from Hyderabad on Monday, chose to cast their vote before departing on the holy pilgrimage, despite time constrains.
Three chartered flights were scheduled on Monday from Hyderabad to Madinah for pilgrims from different parts of the state. The pilgrims were required to report eight hours prior to their scheduled flight. It’s noteworthy to mention that many pilgrims require five to seven hours to reach Hyderabad from different parts of the state.
Casting vote at their native places and traveling to Hyderabad to complete boarding formalities on the same day was a challenging task. Yet, many pilgrims opted to vote in the early hours before beginning their journey.
“Being a citizen, it’s my duty to cast the vote to strengthen democracy. Being faithful, it is my obligation to perform Haj,” Shaikh Ishaq Ali, a native of Jagtial, told Siasat.com after he exercised his franchise.
Like Ishaq, there are dozens of other pilgrims who fulfilled their democratic responsibility before beginning the lifetime dream of the Haj.
This year 8,239 pilgrims from Telangana are performing Haj through the Haj committee. A total of 1,75,025 Indian pilgrims will arrive in Saudi Arabia from different parts of the country this year.