The Khuddus Sab Eidgah on Millers Road has turned into a beehive of activity with Haj pilgrims from all over the state camping here in preparation to their flight to Jeddah.

Nearly 6,700 pilgrims leave from Bangalore for Makkah where the Haj will be performed between December 18 and 23.  Altogether 15 flights will take Karnataka pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. But nearly an equal number of applicants have been unlucky as they could not find a berth in the allotted quota from the State.

The Haj camp hums with activity as pilgrims are required to report 48 hours before the departure of the flight. A whole township with banks, foreign exchange agencies, Department of Immigration, Customs, Police and fire force besides the paraphernalia for boarding and lodging of the pilgrims has sprung up on the small ground. Haj being a lifetime experience, quite a good number of seeing-off relatives come in tow of pilgrims from rural areas.
 
Voluntary bodies too depute their workers to attend to chores of pilgrims as it is considered a pious obligation to serve the pilgrims. On an average day, the ground hosts nearly 4,000 pilgrims and their visitors. 

A good number of shops selling headscarves, Ihram (the sacramental dress for the pilgrims), rosary beads, Haj guides, and other travel items also come up on the ground. Tea stalls and hotels too do brisk business. 

Mir Anees Ahmad, the Executive Officer of the Karnataka State Haj Committee says, paucity of flight seats from the State has caused a lot of disappointment.  He points out that by law individuals are barred from repeating Hajj performance within five years. Pilgrims are issued a 'Pilgrim Pass' by the Ministry of Home rather than the usual passport. Some keen aspirants escape the computerized scrutiny by a simple twist in their names, addresses or other vital antecedents. This leads to denial of opportunity for first-time performers.

Constant drizzle has added to the woes of the inmates of the camp during the last weekend. With average of 20 visitors for each pilgrim, the camp is visited by nearly 1.5 lakh people during the fortnight-long camp.  Haj authorities therefore plead for permanent   Haj House somewhere in the vicinity of the Devanahalli Airport.

Promises to this effect have remained from being materialized during the last few years.