Srinagar, May 09: The first batch of 320 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir left for Saudi Arabia on Thursday for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
An official told news agency Kashmir Scroll that a total of 7,008 Hajj pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir will be embarking on the holy journey to Mecca and Medina this year.
He said that out of the total 7,008 pilgrims from J&K, around 6,800 are going through the Srinagar embarkation, and the remaining through the Delhi embarkation.
As per the official data, a total of 6,852 pilgrims will be embarking from Srinagar, inclusive of those from Ladakh, while 541 pilgrims will depart from other airports, primarily Delhi airport, today.
Meanwhile, reports reaching said that since morning, it was a spiritual atmosphere in the Bemina area when Hajj pilgrims reached the Hajj House, where they prayed for the people of Kashmir and the development of the state.
Pertinently, last year, 12,052 individuals undertook the sacred journey from the Srinagar embarkation point.(KS)