An annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the Haj( to intend a journey), is one of the biggest human pilgrimages in the world. It is compulsory for Muslims to go on Hajj at least once in their whole lifetime if they are physically and financially capable of going on the journey.

This year over 136,000 Indians will visit Mecca to perform Haj. The quota for India remain unchanged because of the expansion work at Mecca's Grand Mosque.

Here is the list of preparations done for this large scale pilgrimage:

1. Air India special flights

Air India will ply 230 special flights for haj pilgrims from 7 Indian cities- Delhi, Srinagar, Mumbai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Goa and Nagpur. These flights will carry 38,000 Hajis to Jeddah. The national carrier will offer exclusive pre-boarding facilities and special meals both on ground and in-flight to the pilgrims.

To ensure good service for the pilgrims, Air India has announced an incentive of Rs.10,000 for crew members who report on time and take limited leave. The supervision of air charter operations during the period of Haj is done by the Ministry of civil aviation and it deploys officials in Saudi Arabia to assist in loading and unloading of pilgrims.

2. Haj subsidy

The Ministry of civil aviation provides subsidised air travel to pilgrims performing Haj through Haj Committee of India. This year, Rs. 42,000 will be charged for air travel from each pilgrim. In 2014, Rs. 35000 was charged per pilgrim for air travel. The actual air fare range is Rs. 63,750 to Rs. 1,63,750.

After the Supreme Court direction in 2012 to phase out air travel subsidy in 10 years, there has been a reduction in subsidy year by year. From Rs. 836.56 crore in 2012 to Rs 680.03 in 2013. The subsidy came down to Rs. 533 crore in 2014.

The Haj subsidy is a subsidy provided by Government of India to Indian Muslims to be able to perform Haj in Mecca. The subsidy includes domestic travel, meals, medical care, lodging assistance along with airfare subsidy. Though, Supreme Court in India has ordered the government to end the subsidy by 2022.

Source: Reuters

3. Special flight schedules for Haj pilgrims of Andhra, Karnataka and Telangana

As per the schedule released by the Central Haj committee the flights for the Haj pilgrims of 2015 will start from September 2015. There will be 16 flights between 2nd September and 8th September from Hyderabad to Jeddah and 16 flights have been scheduled to return from Madina to Hyderabad between 14th to 20th October.
However, the first batch of two flights have already been departed from Srinagar to Medina on August 17, 2015.

4. Free vaccination to Haj pilgrims in Telangana

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali while speaking at the vaccination camp of the Haj Pilgrims at the Haj House in Nampally assured that the State government is going to provide with all the assistance required. He said that three flights starting from September 2 till September 8 will run from Hyderabad and released the Haj guides published in three languages- English, Telugu and Urdu.

From Telangana 1,117 pilgrims are selected to perform Haj this year and the camp commenced from August 31, 2015. The Haj committee made proper arrangements for vaccinations and distribution of suitcases to all the pilgrims. The Indian pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia will have to fulfill a new visa condition which is to attach a valid vaccination certificate against respiratory infections common in Saudi.

Source: Reuters

5. Preparations in Saudi Arabia

To provide the best security and hospitality to pilgrims, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz during a committee meeting said that misbehaviour of any sorts will be dealt with utmost decisiveness and taken very seriously.

He recalled that the kingdom had not tolerated any misbehaviour or disrespect towards Islam and will not do so in the future as well. The Saudi Prince reminded pilgrims to not do any act or sing slogans which contradicts Islam or hurt any pilgrim's feelings.

Nearly 139 buildings with a capacity of 71684 people have been hired to accommodate the pilgrims. Saudi Arabia follows the quota system, one pilgrim for every thousand Muslims in that country. The desert country is expecting around 1.33 million people from across the world.