Hajis return home under tight security

vadodara: fear and concern were writ large on the face of hajis who returned here on saturday. the pilgrims said they prayed for peace and harmony in gujarat during their stay in the holy place. "when we were leaving for the yatra the chief minister said in his message that we should pray for peace in the state. we never expected that we will have to return to face such a situation," said a haji.while some hajis were relieved that their family and homes were safe, there were others like ishaq madara from salia village in panchmahals district who was informed that his home was set ablaze by rioters. about 83 hajis were brought to vadodara police bhavan from ahmedabad airport. the buses in which they travelled were accompanied by a police van. from narmada bhavan 60 hajis, who hail from the city, were taken to their homes under police escort. the 23 others from panchmahals and rural areas of vadodara too were taken to their native places under heavy police protection. worry was writ large on the face of ishaq madara as he said, "i spoke to my family and they have shifted to chhota udepur. they said the house is gone. but what i am worried about is that they did not tell me the whole story yet." another haj yatri accompanying him said, "madara is a driver and he has probably lost his vehicle too. he heard the news two weeks back and has been worried since then." suleman mala, a congress worker of chhota udepur taluka, who was also returning home from mecca said the general feeling among haj yatris is that of tension and fear. "when we were in mecca we prayed for peace in gujarat. the chief minister''s message to all of us going for haj was to pray for peace. we did that. but what happened on february 27 and thereafter was bad," he said. shiraz ahmed, a resident of chhota udepur, said he heard that his family is safe but there are many who had come to his town seeking refuge. "i was told that a relief camp was set up there. we heard many horrifying tales in mecca. some of them seem to be rumours, while others were reported in local dailies," he said. another haj yatri said that when he left home for mecca he had no inkling that his return will be under such circumstances. "we condemn the violence that took place. our return journey was safe due to heavy police protection," he said. according to another pilgrim, the journey back home was quite tiring. "in mecca, the atmosphere was cool, there was air-conditioning everywhere. it is very hot here. and we have to undertake a long journey to chhota udepur," she said.