11-26-2006, 06:26 AM
http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/17316.html
Nice way to get a commission from private tour operators. Of course, sending pilgrims for haj helps garner votes as well.
Ahamed & Kerala pilgrimsâ progress
Minister of State E Ahamed takes the credit for the increased number of Haj pilgrims this year. The MoS has not just boosted the number of pilgrims, he has over the last two years also diverted a sizable amount of the pilgrim traffic from the Haj Committee to private operators. This year 50,000 of the 1.57 lakh pilgrims will be flying through private travel agencies and not surprisingly a large chunk of the tour operators are from Ahamedâs home state, Kerala. With the number of pilgrims from Kerala increasing disproportionately Water Resources Minister Saiffudin Soz has protested that Jammu and Kashmir is not getting its fair share.
Nice way to get a commission from private tour operators. Of course, sending pilgrims for haj helps garner votes as well.
Ahamed & Kerala pilgrimsâ progress
Minister of State E Ahamed takes the credit for the increased number of Haj pilgrims this year. The MoS has not just boosted the number of pilgrims, he has over the last two years also diverted a sizable amount of the pilgrim traffic from the Haj Committee to private operators. This year 50,000 of the 1.57 lakh pilgrims will be flying through private travel agencies and not surprisingly a large chunk of the tour operators are from Ahamedâs home state, Kerala. With the number of pilgrims from Kerala increasing disproportionately Water Resources Minister Saiffudin Soz has protested that Jammu and Kashmir is not getting its fair share.