LAHORE, Nov 21: As Haj terminal project in Tajpura is still in doldrums, the intending pilgrims, like the previous years, will have to gather at “congested terminal” near the railway station on Friday, a day before the first Haj flight is scheduled for Jeddah.

The Punjab government, some three years ago, had allocated some 57 kanals in the north of the city for the purpose. However, the land is yet to be transferred to the religious affairs ministry.

Ministry sources told Dawn on Tuesday that though an NOC had been issued in this regard, the revenue department was not transferring the land for the reason best known to the authorities concerned.

They said unless the process of land acquisition was completed, development work for the terminal could not be kicked off.

They said the government had first allocated 100 kanals for the ministry on the premises of the Allama Iqbal International Airport for the purpose, but later withdrew the decision for `security reasons’.

The government every year reiterates that the new Haj terminal will be made operational in the forthcoming year but, practically, it seems no serious effort has been made to implement the project.

On the other hand, the existing terminal does not have enough capacity to cater to a large number of intending pilgrims. It has only 50 rooms and camps are set up to accommodate about 500 pilgrims.

A local pilgrim has to report to the terminal some six hours before the departure of his or her flight, while those from the cities like Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Shakarghar, Jhang, Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin usually come to the place a day before their departure.