New Delhi, Oct. 22 -- AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday urged the Centre to intervene and facilitate the return of around 4,000 Indian Umrah pilgrims allegedly stranded in Medina, Jeddah and Mecca for the past two to three weeks, citing severe hardship and a lack of assistance from their travel agents.

Owaisi called on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to immediately grant permission to IndiGo, Akasa Air and Air India to operate larger aircraft to Jeddah to bring back the stranded pilgrims.

He said the pilgrims had travelled through these three airlines and were facing difficulties after being left to fend for themselves by their travel agents.

"For the past two to three weeks, approximately 4,000 Indian Umrah pil...