Lucknow, Jan. 20 -- The Central government has ensured better facilities for the Haj pilgrims this year, Danish Azad Ansari, minister of state for Minority Welfare, Muslim Waqf and Haj and the chairperson of Uttar Pradesh Haj Committee, who led a high-level committee by the government of India to Saudi Arabia recently to inspect and ensure better facilities for the pilgrims, has said. The committee that comprised three more members, including deputy CEO of Haj Committee of India, visited Mecca and Medina recently and took stock of the preparations regarding hotel and transportation for the upcoming Haj pilgrimage. Speaking to Hindustan Times on Monday, Ansari said, "Inspection of hotels and transport system was done and this time we ensured that better and new hotels should also be included for the Haj pilgrims from India. For example the buildings in the Azizia area were earlier hired on a regular basis but now some of the buildings have become old, and hence we decided to include some new hotel buildings keeping in mind better facilities for the pilgrims." The committee led by Ansari also had a meeting with authorities of the Saudi government and officers of the Ministry of External Affairs. This time the Saudi government has implemented two new rules according to which cooking will not be allowed and the pilgrims will get their food through catering, and males and females will have to stay in separate enclosures. "We have ensured that hotels selected this time for the pilgrims have a dedicated dining area, along with this at least two-lifts in the building are mandatory. We have also ensured that there should be separate and dedicated areas for offering namaz (prayers) for males and females. Also, a washing area should be there in the building for the pilgrims where they can wash their clothes in washing machines," added Ansari. The Haj Committee of India will also be giving smart bands to the pilgrims for the first time in order to ensure their safety and health. "Many times during the five-day time period when the Haj pilgrims have to stay in tents in Mina, many elderly forget their way back to their tents. Now with the help of these smart bands, they will not forget their way and also in case of any medical emergency they can get help within minutes. The training of Haj Inspectors for the 2026 Haj will be held in Mumbai on January 24 and 25 in which they will also be given training about these smart bands," stated Ansari....