Irregularities in selecting Hajj pilgrims, alleges woman
Bengaluru, Jan 23: Nusrat Raza, a beneficiary who was denied Hajj pilgrimage, alleged that both State Haj Committee and Minority Welfare Department have involved in irregularities in selecting Hajj pilgrimages for the present year.
Speaking to reporters at the Press Club here on Wednesday, she said that during present year, the central Haj Committee has fixed 6,701 quota for the state. But more than 14,000 people have applied for it. But the state Haj Committee, after selecting the beneficiaries under the central quota through Khurra (lottery), has informed the beneficiaries that you were not selected.
The Committee has conducted the Khurra process at Vidhana Soudha Banquet Hall on January 16 in which Minority Welfare Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, Committee president Roshan Baig, CEO Sarfraz Khan, Ministers, Religious leaders and state committee members were present.
As planned, in the beginning, Khurra of Bagalkot district was completed and later, Bengaluru Urban district held. In the same way, all 30 districts were covered. In that process, for Bengaluru urban district, lottery was held for 395 covers and in each cover, there would be three names. In the same way, total 994 names in 395 covers were selected and announced their names. But on the next day, she received a message that she was not selected for the Hajj pilgrimage from the Haj Committee, she alleged.
What went wrong?
The lottery was fixed on January 16. In order to avoid last minute lapses or mistakes, the officials have conducted rehearsal on January 15. Surprisingly, during the lottery on January 16, all the 395 covers of Bengaluru urban district were conducted as per the rehearsal list of January 15. This mistake was disclosed only after completing all 30 districts, she said.
In order to rectify the mistake of rehearsal, the officials held the lottery of Bengaluru urban district as per the January 16 list. So, due to the mistakes of officials, the beneficiaries who were selected during January 15 have lost the opportunity of pilgrimage. So, the minister should interfere and ensure justice to them. They were not interested for conflict. But they should be given opportunity. Otherwise, they would take up legal fight, she warned.
Action against erring officials: Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan
No irregularity was occurred in the present year selection process of Hajj pilgrims. Instead, some confusions were created due to some technical problems, for which, action would be taken against the erring officials, State Wakf and Hajj Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan said.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, the Minister said that the lottery process was fixed on January 16. In order to avoid last minute confusions, the officials have conducted experiment on January 15 and this has led to some confusions, for which he would tender apology, he said.
Central Haj Committee has allotted 6,701 seats for this year to the state. But more than 10,000 people have applied for the selection. Even the selection process would also be monitored by the central committee. Everybody wanted to conduct Hajj pilgrimage once in their lifetime. So, some people have experienced the confusion due to some technical issues. He would initiate enquiry into such mistake and take action, the Minister said.
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
