The Union government on Monday said the number of Indian pilgrims who would perform Haj in 2006 would touch 1.37 lakh.
According to official sources, 82,000 pilgrims would perform Haj through the Haj Committee, while the remaining 55,000 pilgrims would undertake the pilgrimage through private tour operators.
For their journey to Saudi Arabia, 100,000 pilgrims would proceed from various embarkation points in India to Jeddah, while the remaining 37,000 would proceed directly to Madina, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh said.
The minister was addressing the All India Annual Haj Conference in New Delhi.
The minister said the space norm for accommodation of pilgrims in Makkah has been enhanced from 3 square metre to 3.5 square metre per pilgrim.
A new category of accommodation has also been introduced for Indian pilgrims. Under this facility, pilgrims can opt to stay between 1,001 to 1,200 metre for the Haram Sharief at the rate of Saudi Riyal 1,050 per person, the minister said.