Bengaluru: Health and Family Welfare Services Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde has directed officials to complete medical examinations and vaccination for pilgrims travelling for Haj this year by March 28.

In a circular issued to the Director of the Medical Education Department, he stated that the District RCH Officer has been designated as the nodal officer to complete all related activities as per the Standard Operating Procedure. The District Health Officer concerned will oversee overall monitoring and coordination of the programme.

The Commissioner has instructed deans and directors of medical colleges, district surgeons and medical superintendents to extend necessary cooperation to ensure smooth conduct of the medical examinations. Medical colleges have also been asked to deploy specialist doctors from their institutions to assist in the medical screening teams for Haj pilgrims.

Hospitals participating in the process must submit details of the specialist teams involved in the examinations and the schedule of health camps organised for the pilgrims. They have also been directed to update the daily progress of the activities on the website https://hphis.ehospital.nic.in/ for monitoring and review.

Officials have been asked to make necessary arrangements in view of the 3,991 Haj pilgrims in Bengaluru who are required to undergo medical screening. Facilities for the examinations have been arranged at Victoria Hospital, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institute (Bowring Hospital), K.C. General Hospital, Jayanagar General Hospital, Sir C.V. Raman General Hospital, K.R. Puram General Hospital and Yelahanka General Hospital.

Meanwhile, Karnataka State Haj Committee president Zulfikar Ahmed Khan said that medical examination camps are being organised at Haj Bhavan until March 16. As per the directions of the Saudi Arabian government, all Haj pilgrims must undergo mandatory medical screening.

Pilgrims will first undergo general medical check-ups at Haj Bhavan, and those requiring further tests will be referred to government hospitals based on doctors’ recommendations. He also said arrangements have been made for medical examinations at seven government hospitals in Bengaluru for Haj pilgrims.

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New Delhi (PTI): Two Indian nationals were killed and 10 others injured in a drone strike in Oman's Sohar city on Friday that marked the first Indian fatalities on land since the Iran-US conflict erupted on February 28.

Joint secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs Aseem Mahajan confirmed the killing of the two Indians in Oman at an inter-ministerial media briefing on the crisis in West Asia.

He also said that 150,000 Indian nationals have returned to India from West Asia after the conflict began.

"I wish to share with you an incident that happened in Sohar city today. There was an attack and in this incident two Indian nationals have died," he said.

"We express our deepest condolences to their families. Of the 11 injured (in the attack), 10 are Indians. Out of them, five have been discharged after receiving treatment, and five others are receiving treatment in local hospitals," Mahajan said.

"None of them is reported to have serious injuries. Our mission is in close touch with the concerned company and local authorities and is rendering all assistance," he said.

While Mahajan did not provide specific details of the attack, the Oman News Agency (ONA) reported that two drones crashed in Sohar, with one hitting the Al Awhi Industrial Zone and claiming the lives of the two expatriate workers.

These latest casualties brought the total number of Indian fatalities in the West Asia conflict to five. While the strike in Oman marked the first deaths on land, three Indian sailors have previously been killed in attacks on merchant vessels since the conflict erupted on February 28.

In the last few days, India has ramped up its diplomatic efforts to ensure safety and security of 10 million Indian nationals living in West Asia.

India has also been making efforts to secure safe passage for over 20 Indian-flagged merchant vessels currently stationed on either side of the Strait of Hormuz.

In his remarks, Mahajan also said that 15 Indian crew members of the US-owned oil tanker Safesea Vishnu were safely evacuated to a hotel in Basra city.

The tanker came under attack near Basra in Iraq on Wednesday. An Indian crew member was killed in the attack.

Efforts were underway to transport the mortal remains of the deceased to India , he said.

Mahajan said the Indian mission in Basra is also trying to ensure safe repatriation of the 15 Indian crew members to India.

The senior official said 150,000 Indian nationals returned from West Asia.

Around 2,900 Indians returned from Qatar in Qatar Airways flights over the past few days, and 1,000 Indians who returned from Bahrain.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said 117 Indian nationals have crossed over to Armenia from Iran through land border crossings and several of them have returned to India already.

We told all sides to adopt the path of dioplomacy and dialogue to resolve it the conflict as soon as possible, he said at the briefing.

We are also talking to BRICS member states so that a consensus evolves on this issue, he said.