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Azerbaijani pilgrims leaving for Hajj through â€œKarvan Dâ€ Company face serious problems in Medina

27 November 2008 17:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Hafiz Heydarov â€“ APA. Azerbaijani pilgrims going to Hajj through â€œKarvan Dâ€ Company faced serious problems in Medina. The pilgrims phoned to APA from Medina and said that the pilgrims, who had left for Hajj by buses, were obliged to overnight in the streets in Medina. They said over 300 pilgrims had not been provided with hotels and with food.
â€œWe are offered low-quality rooms in Medina. The number of rooms is fewer than that of the pilgrims. 10-15 are offered to stay in one room. The pilgrims rent garage in stay there. Some stay in the yards of mosques,â€ he said.

The pilgrims said the allotted hotels were dirty, most rooms had no windows and doors, the pilgrims refused to stay there and prefer to stay in the streets, bus and garage. According to the pilgrims said representative of â€œKarvan Dâ€ Company Mirmehdi said it was impossible to provide better conditions under those circumstances.
â€œWe fail to contact any official of the company. We paid AZN 1950 to visit Hajj by bus. We have faced serious problems. We have made fire, prepared meal and sleep in the streets,â€ he said.

Head of Foreign Relations Department of the Caucasian Muslims Office Mugaddas Payizov told APA that he had no information about the problems of Azerbaijani pilgrims in Medina. To him, â€œKarvan Dâ€ Company has been allocated quotas this year at request of Culture and Tourism Ministry: â€œIf the pilgrimsâ€™ complaints against the company are confirmed, allocation of quotas to that company next year will be reviewed againâ€, said Mugaddas Payizov and added that the problem would seriously be investigated.

Executive Director of â€œKarvan Dâ€ Company Nuraddin Mehdiyev in return told APA that the information on pilgrimsâ€™ hotel problems was not true. â€œOnly some pilgrims were not satisfied with the hotel conditions and expressed concern over this issueâ€. He also refuted false reports on food supplies of the pilgrims. â€œWe do not bear responsibility for food supplies of pilgrims in Medina. We only promised to provide them with nutriments twice a day in Mecca. We will keep our promise as soon as they get to Meccaâ€.