IMPHAL, September 9: Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh today attended the inaugural function of the three day Haj 2012 Orientation/Training of Pilgrims organized by the Manipur State Haj Committee at Madrassah Alia (Markaz-e-Tabligh), Lilong.
The training programme has been made compulsory for all intending pilgrims of Haj since last year.
Speaking as the chief guest, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh expressed that the three day orientation programme will help the pilgrims and lauded the Manipur State Haj Committee for organizing such a programme in the state.
Expressing that all people are same, the state Chief Minister said we should treat everyone equally and there should be no segregation on the lines of one’s religion.
All religion teach us to unite and doesn’t teach us to fight against one another, he stressed.
He further urged the people to live in peace and harmony.
He wished all pilgrims safe journey and appealed to all to pray for the state during their pilgrimage to the holy place.
Stressing on the importance of the training programme, an executive member of the Manipur State Haj Committee said every year more than 30 lakh of pilgrims attend Haj.
In such a scenario the pilgrims need to follow certain norms during the pilgrim, he said.
Continuing further, he said that pilgrims need to be trained of the ways of the country as their living standard is different from ours.
He further elaborated that there are two types of accommodation category at Haj- Azizia accommodation and Green accommodation.
Azizia refers to the economical class while the green category refers to VIP class.
Meanwhile, Md Abdul Nasir in his guest of honour speech said he will sponsor the fooding for 400 of the pilgrims from the state at Guwahati.
Md Amin Shah said the state government will sanction Rs 12 lakh for the pilgrims of the state. He continued that the audit of the sanctioned money will be provided for all to see after returning from Haj.
Meanwhile, he continued that he has received information that several persons are duping innocents who want to go to the pilgrimage and added such individuals should stop such activities at the earliest.