Mangalore: A first group of 159 Haj yatris boarded an Air India flight from Mangalore to Madinah, on way to Ka’aba in Mecca in Saudi Arabia, at 7.50pm (night) on Tuesday, October.4.

A farewell ceremony was held for them at the old terminal building before they departed.  Mangalore Qazi (priest) Twqa Ahmed Musliyar blessed them in the presence of former minister B.A.Moideen.

Congress MLA Abhaya Chandra Jain, a former police officer G.A.Bawa, and others saw them off.  The next two batches will take off on October 7 and the rest on October 10-11.

About 800 pilgrims will make it to Haj this year. The return flight commences from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, on November 11-15, after a month.

These leave Jeddah at 2 am past midnight and reach Mangalore at 12 midnight next day.