Hyderabad Umrah pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia amid flight cancellations

Gulf Correspondent

Jeddah: Each hour spent waiting feels like an eternity. Hours turn into days, and now a week has passed, leaving Shahajahu anxious and desperate to return home.

The 64-year-old woman, a resident of Rajendranagar in Hyderabad, has been suffering from a chronic ailment and is running out of medicine and money.

She is desperate to know just one thing: when can she fly back home to Hyderabad? Her son, Mohammed Anwar, who is accompanying her, has no answer despite hectic efforts. No one has been able to provide a timeline for her return or answer her questions.

She is one of dozens of Umrah pilgrims from Telangana and other parts of India who are currently stranded in Saudi Arabia following the abrupt cancellation of their flights by Indian carriers amid the volatile situation in the region.

Like Shahajahu, many others from Hyderabad travelled to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah in Saudi Arabia in groups. They are staying in clusters at various hotels in the holy cities, while some are in the port city of Jeddah, the nearest major city to Makkah.

The pilgrims travelled to Saudi Arabia through various tour operators based in Hyderabad and were stranded there. Some who could afford it eventually returned home by paying high airfares to travel on Gulf-based regional airlines.

Razia Begum, 59, a native of Shadnagar in Rangareddy district, travelled on an Indian carrier and had paid a high fare for a return ticket. While returning from Jeddah, she died in Abu Dhabi during a transit stop on Monday.

Some pilgrims also travelled by road to Dammam, a distant city, and then crossed into neighbouring Bahrain and Qatar, from where they could catch flights to Hyderabad.

However, not everyone can afford the high fares or is physically fit enough to travel more than a thousand kilometres.

Mohammed Aslam, a resident of Yousufguda in Hyderabad, is growing increasingly concerned as he is a private-sector employee whose approved leave has expired. Like Aslam, some other young professionals are also worried about their jobs following the lapse of their leave periods.

There was a ray of hope among the pilgrims on Tuesday night that flights to Hyderabad would operate. However, none had been informed of any travel plans by Wednesday afternoon, Saudi time.

The Indian consulate has been working with local airlines to repatriate stranded pilgrims, sources said.

For a Hyderabadi, “dood ki chai” is more than a beverage; it is a deeply rooted obsession and a cultural ritual, wherever they may be. Now, stranded pilgrims are desperate for tea as well as flights home. Some Hyderabadis have volunteered to provide them with traditional milk tea.

“This is a quest for a Hyderabadi anywhere on the planet,” commented Hyderabadi community worker Imran Kouser.