Jiddah: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, will bear the cost of the first entry visa for Haj and Umrah pilgrims.

The minister of Haj and Umrah, Mohammed Bin Saleh Bentin, made the statement during a coordination committee meeting with Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques. The meeting reviewed programmes and services for this year's Haj and Umrah season.

"Our partnership is aimed at removing all the obstacles that may face the Haj and Umrah pilgrims and facilitate their arrival to the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah," he said.

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Mumbai (PTI): NCP's Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar will be sworn-in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, replacing her deceased husband and party chief Ajit Pawar, at the Lok Bhavan here at 5 pm on Saturday.

Lok Bhavan (formerly Raj Bhavan) gave this information.

Governor Acharya Devvrat, who is currently in Mussoorie, will arrive in Mumbai at 4 pm, it said.

NCP's legislature party meeting is scheduled to take place in the city at 2 pm, where Sunetra Pawar is set to be named as its leader. After that she will take oath as the first woman deputy CM of the state.

She held talks with party leaders after arriving here from Baramati early morning on Saturday.

Ajit Pawar, who was deputy chief minister and finance minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government, was killed in a plane crash in Baramati along with four others on January 28.