A total of 157 intending pilgrims from Katsina State will not perform this year's Hajj due to Saudi Arabia's new policy on old timers.Alhaji Aminu Danbaba, the Executive Director of the

state's Pilgrims Welfare Board, disclosed this in Katsina yesterday. He was speaking at a one-day sensitisation workshop for the pilgrim officials, women and youth guides from the 34 local government areas of the state.

He explained that the affected intending pilgrims were screened out because they had performed the Hajj in 2009. He said, "The 157 intending pilgrims barred from performing the Holy pilgrimage are detected from the state's 4,570 intending pilgrims for the year."

The executive director added that necessary preparations for the Hajj had been made by the state government, including accommodation, transport and feeding arrangements. He said the state government would provide meals to the pilgrims in the Holy Land, apart from other services.

Danbaba, who said that the Saudi authorities had trained their officials on a new transport arrangement, urged the state pilgrim officials to always fear Allah while discharging their duties both in Nigeria and in Saudi.

In his address, the Chairman of the Pilgrims Board, Alhaji Lawal Dano, talked on the new transport arrangement in Saudi Arabia. He said that this year's pilgrims from Nigeria and Iran were assigned the same road from Mecca to Muna, Arafat and Muzdalifa.  NAN