After 3 failed bids, Cuttack man makes one more attempt for Haj pilrimage

Bhubaneswar: After three unsuccessful attempts to reach the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on a bicyle, Sk Wasif (38) of Kesharpur in Cuttack is now trying his luck to go on a pilgrimage by air through the state Haj committee.
Wasif, a taxi driver, is short of funds to go on the pilgrimage. The last date of depositing the money, which in his case amounts to around rupees one lakh, is the first week of July.The first installment of Rs 81000, donated by a philanthropic industrialist, has already been deposited with the Haj committee.
His name was announced in the lucky draw, which is organized by the state Haj committee every year, to select prospective pilgrims for Haj. Wasif was among 515 people selected from a total of 968 applicants.
"I was excited ever since my name was announced in April," said Wasif, adding, "I had dropped an application form casually at the Haj committee. Little did I know then that I would make it to the lucky draw. If Allah wishes, this mission will be accomplished," Wasif said. He said the heroic journey of veteran leader and former chief minister late Biju Patnaik to Peshawar during his student days had inspired him to embark upon his journey. "My dream was to set a record and earn a name for my state and the country," he said.
He added that he was first forced to return midway from Amritsar in 2011 as his passport was drenched. It took him more than a month to reach Amristar on a cycle. He used to cover 100km on an average daily. He said he was again forced to return from the India-Pak border at Wagha in 2013 and from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan in 2015 as government officials posted there did allow him to proceed further citing security reasons.
"I had sold my old auto on the first occasion. My wife too gave away her ornaments to support my dream. I have left the rest to Allah now," said Wasif.